This electronic resource is designed to
provide DJJ staff and the general public with an efficient method to
access South Carolina statutes, organized by topic area, that impact
children in SC's juvenile justice system. Each topic listed
below contains the relevant statutory law for that topic area (not
including case law) and is current as of the 2008 legislative session. The
legal office plans to update these topic areas on an annual basis at
the conclusion of the legislative session. If you need to reference a
statue that is beyond the scope of these topic areas, you can access the entire
SC Code on the SC legislative website at www.scstatehouse.net.

The mother and father are the joint natural guardians of
their minor children and are equally charged with the welfare and education of
their minor children and the care and management of the estates of their minor
children; and the mother and father have equal power, rights, and duties, and
neither parent has any right paramount to the right of the other concerning the
custody of the minor or the control of the services or the earnings of the
minor or any other matter affecting the minor. Each parent, whether the
custodial or noncustodial parent of the child, has equal access and the same
right to obtain all educational records and medical records of their minor
children and the right to participate in their children's school activities
unless prohibited by order of the court. Neither parent shall forcibly take a
child from the guardianship of the parent legally entitled to custody of the
child.

SECTION 63-5-50. Parental
immunity in cases of incorrigibility of seventeen year old.

A parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care
and support of a child may not be charged with unlawful neglect of a child,
cruelty to a child, failure to provide reasonable support of a child, or a
similar offense based on the exclusion from the home of a seventeen-year-old
child where there is a demonstrable record that the child is incorrigible
(beyond the control of parents).

SECTION 63-5-60. Parental
civil liability for damage to state property.

(A) The State of South Carolina, a political subdivision of
the State including, but not limited to, a school district, or any other person
including, but not limited to, an individual, a religious organization, a
corporation, a partnership, or other entity, whether incorporated or
unincorporated, is entitled to recover damages in an amount not to exceed five
thousand dollars in a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction from
the parents or legal guardian of the person of a minor under the age of
eighteen years and residing with the parents or the legal guardian of the
person who maliciously or wilfully causes personal injury to the individual or
destroys, damages, or steals property, real, personal, or mixed, belonging to
the State of South Carolina, the political subdivision of the State including,
but not limited to, a school district, or other person including, but not
limited to, an individual, religious organization, corporation, partnership, or
other entity, whether incorporated or unincorporated.

(B) Recovery under this section is limited to actual
damages.

(C) Nothing in this section limits the application of the
family purpose doctrine.

(D) The liability of parents or legal guardians under
subsection (A) is joint and several with the minor for the injury or the
destruction, damage, or theft, as the case may be, as long as the minor would
have been liable for the injury or the destruction, damage, or theft if the
minor had been an adult. Nothing in this section may be construed to relieve
the minor from personal liability for the injury or the destruction, damage, or
theft. The liability in this section is in addition to and not in lieu of other
liability which may exist by law.

(E) This section does not apply to persons having custody or
charge of a minor under the authority of a state agency or a county social
services department or to state agencies or county departments of social
services which have legal custody or charge of a minor.

Whoever cruelly ill-treats, deprives of necessary sustenance
or shelter, or inflicts unnecessary pain or suffering upon a child or causes
the same to be done, whether the person is the parent or guardian or has charge
or custody of the child, for every offense, is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than thirty days or fined not more
than two hundred dollars, at the discretion of the magistrate.

No action shall be maintained whereby to charge any person
upon any promise made after full age to pay any debt contracted during infancy
or upon any ratification after full age of any promise (except upon contracts
for necessaries) made during infancy unless such promise or ratification shall
be made by some writing signed by the party to be charged therewith.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary,
any person who, not having attained his majority, contracts to borrow money to
defray the expenses of attending any institution of higher learning, shall have
full legal capacity to act in his own behalf and shall have all the rights,
powers and privileges and be subject to the obligations of persons of full age
with respect to any such contracts.

The consent of a married minor or, if a married minor be
unable to give consent by reason of physical disability, then the consent of
the spouse of the married minor to the performance by any licensed medical,
surgical or dental practitioners, or any hospital, or their agents or
employees, of any lawful diagnostic, therapeutic surgical or postmortem
procedure upon or in respect to such minor or any minor child of such minor,
shall, notwithstanding the minority of such minor, be valid and legally
effective for all purposes and shall be binding upon such minor, his parents,
spouse, heirs, executors and administrators as effectively as if such minor or
the spouse of such minor were eighteen years of age.

Any minor who has reached the age of sixteen years may
consent to any health services from a person authorized by law to render the
particular health service for himself and the consent of no other person shall
be necessary unless such involves an operation which shall be performed only if
such is essential to the health or life of such child in the opinion of the
performing physician and a consultant physician if one is available.

Health services of any kind may be rendered to minors of any
age without the consent of a parent or legal guardian when, in the judgment of
a person authorized by law to render a particular health service, such services
are deemed necessary unless such involves an operation which shall be performed
only if such is essential to the health or life of such child in the opinion of
the performing physician and a consultant physician if one is available.

(A) Except as otherwise provided herein, the court shall
have exclusive original jurisdiction and shall be the sole court for initiating
action:

(1) Concerning any child living or found within the
geographical limits of its jurisdiction:

(a) who is neglected as to proper or necessary support or
education as required by law, or as to medical, psychiatric, psychological or
other care necessary to his well-being, or who is abandoned by his parent or
other custodian;

(b) whose occupation, behavior, condition, environment or
associations are such as to injure or endanger his welfare or that of others;

(c) who is beyond the control of his parent or other
custodian;

(d) who is alleged to have violated or attempted to violate
any state or local law or municipal ordinance, regardless of where the
violation occurred except as provided in Section 63-3-520;

(e) whose custody is the subject of controversy, except in
those cases where the law now gives other courts concurrent jurisdiction. In
the consideration of these cases, the court shall have concurrent jurisdiction
to hear and determine the issue of custody and support.

(2) For the treatment or commitment to any mental institution
of a mentally defective or mentally disordered or emotionally disturbed child.
Provided, that nothing herein is intended to conflict with the authority of
probate courts in dealing with mental cases.

(3) Concerning any child seventeen years of age or over,
living or found within the geographical limits of the court's jurisdiction,
alleged to have violated or attempted to violate any State or local law or
municipal ordinance prior to having become seventeen years of age and such
person shall be dealt with under the provisions of this title relating to
children.

(4) For the detention of a juvenile in a juvenile detention
facility who is charged with committing a criminal offense when detention in a
secure facility is found to be necessary pursuant to the standards set forth in
Section 63-19-820 and when the facility exists in, or is otherwise available
to, the county in which the crime occurred.

(B) Whenever the court has acquired the jurisdiction of any
child under seventeen years of age, jurisdiction continues so long as, in the
judgment of the court, it may be necessary to retain jurisdiction for the
correction or education of the child, but jurisdiction shall terminate when the
child attains the age of twenty-one years. Any child who has been adjudicated
delinquent and placed on probation by the court remains under the authority of
the court only until the expiration of the specified term of his probation.
This specified term of probation may expire before but not after the eighteenth
birthday of the child.

(A) The magistrate courts and municipal courts of this State
have concurrent jurisdiction with the family courts for the trial of persons
under seventeen years of age charged with traffic violations or violations of
the provisions of Title 50 relating to fish, game, and watercraft when these
courts would have jurisdiction of the offense charged if committed by an adult.

(B) The family court shall report to the Department of Motor
Vehicles all adjudications of a juvenile for moving traffic violations and
other violations that affect the juvenile's privilege to operate a motor
vehicle including, but not limited to, controlled substance and alcohol
violations as required by other courts of this State pursuant to Section
56-1-330 and shall report to the Department of Natural Resources adjudications
of the provisions of Title 50.

The court is authorized to seek the cooperation of all
societies or organizations, public or private, having for their object the
protection or aid of delinquent or neglected children, to the end that the
court may be assisted in every reasonable way to give to the children the care,
protection, and assistance which will conserve their welfare. Every state,
county, town, or municipal official or department shall assist and cooperate
within his or its jurisdictional power to further the objects of this title.
All institutions, associations, or other custodial agencies in which a child
may be, coming within the provisions of this title, are required to give
information to the court, or an officer appointed by it, the court or officer
requires for the purposes of this title.

The parent or custodian of any child, an official of a child
welfare board, any public official charged by law with the care of the poor,
the recognized agents of any duly authorized agency, association, society or
institution, any person having knowledge or information of a nature which
convinces such person that a child is neglected or delinquent or that a child,
by reason of its condition, environment or its own acts, is, in accordance with
the provisions of this article, subject to the jurisdiction of the court or any
person who has suffered injury through the delinquency of any such child or is
concerned in its guardianship or adoption or an officer having an arrested
child in charge may institute a proceeding respecting such child.

Service of summons and any process of the court shall be
made as provided by law for service in the court of common pleas. Provided,
that if the judge is satisfied that it is impracticable to serve personally the
summons or the process, he may order service by registered or certified mail,
addressed to the last known address, or by publication thereof, or both. It
shall be sufficient to confer jurisdiction if service is effected at least
forty-eight hours before the time fixed in the summons or process for the
return thereof.

Service of summons, process or notice required by this title
may be made by any suitable person under the direction of the court, and upon
request of the court shall be made by any peace officer.

If any person summoned as herein provided shall, without
reasonable cause, fail to appear, he may be proceeded against for contempt of
court. In case the summons or process cannot be served, or the parties served
fail to obey the same, or in any case when it shall be made to appear to the
judge that the service will be ineffectual, or that the welfare of the child
requires that he be brought forthwith into custody of the court, a warrant may
be issued for the child, parent or guardian of the child, or any person who may
have control or possession of the child, to immediately bring the child before
the court.

All cases of children must be dealt with as separate
hearings by the court and without a jury. The hearings must be conducted in a
formal manner and may be adjourned from time to time. The general public must
be excluded and only persons the judge finds to have a direct interest in the
case or in the work of the court may be admitted. The presence of the child in
court may be waived by the court at any stage of the proceedings. Hearings may
be held at any time or place within the county designated by the judge. In any
case where the delinquency proceedings may result in commitment to an
institution in which the child's freedom is curtailed, the privilege against
self-incrimination and the right of cross-examination must be preserved. In all
cases where required by law, the child must be accorded all rights enjoyed by
adults, and where not required by law the child must be accorded adult rights
consistent with the best interests of the child.

Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of
court, and the court may consider and receive as evidence the result of any
investigation had or made by the probation counselor; provided, that either
party shall be entitled to examine the probation counselor under oath thereon.
The court may adjourn the hearing from time to time for proper cause. Where a
petitioner's needs are so urgent as to require it, the court may make a
temporary order for support pending a final determination.

An adult who wilfully violates, neglects, or refuses to obey
or perform a lawful order of the court, or who violates any provision of this
title, may be proceeded against for contempt of court. An adult found in
contempt of court may be punished by a fine, a public work sentence, or by
imprisonment in a local correctional facility, or any combination of them, in
the discretion of the court, but not to exceed imprisonment in a local
correctional facility for one year, a fine of fifteen hundred dollars, or
public work sentence of more than three hundred hours, or any combination of
them. An adult sentenced to a term of imprisonment under this section may earn
good time credits pursuant to Section 24-13-210 and work credits pursuant to
Section 24-13-230 and may participate in a work/punishment program pursuant to
Section 24-13-910 unless his participation in any of these programs is
prohibited by order of the sentencing judge.

(A) Any appeal from an order, judgment, or decree of the
family court shall be taken in the manner provided by the South Carolina
Appellate Court Rules. The right to appeal must be governed by the same rules,
practices, and procedures that govern appeals from the circuit court.

(B) The pendency of an appeal or application may not suspend
the order of the family court regarding a child, nor shall it discharge the
child from the custody of that court or of the person, institution, or agency
to whose care the child shall have been committed; nor shall it suspend
payments for support and maintenance of the wife and child.

Post conviction proceedings, including habeas corpus
actions, shall be instituted in the court in which the original action was
concluded; provided, however, that the family courts shall also have original
jurisdiction of habeas corpus actions if the person who is the subject of the
action would otherwise be within the jurisdiction of the family court.

When used in this chapter or Chapter 9 or 11 and unless the
specific context indicates otherwise:

(1) "Abandonment of a child" means a parent or
guardian wilfully deserts a child or wilfully surrenders physical possession of
a child without making adequate arrangements for the child's needs or the
continuing care of the child.

(2) "Affirmative determination" means a finding by
a preponderance of evidence that the child was abused or neglected by the
person who is alleged or determined to have abused or neglected the child and
who is mentioned by name in a report or finding. This finding may be made only
by:

(a) the court;

(b) the Department of Social Services upon a final agency
decision in its appeals process; or

(c) waiver by the subject of the report of his right to
appeal. If an affirmative determination is made by the court after an
affirmative determination is made by the Department of Social Services, the
court's finding must be the affirmative determination.

(3) "Child" means a person under the age of
eighteen.

(4) "Child abuse or neglect" or "harm"
occurs when the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the child's
welfare:

(a) inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon the child
physical or mental injury or engages in acts or omissions which present a
substantial risk of physical or mental injury to the child, including injuries
sustained as a result of excessive corporal punishment, but excluding corporal
punishment or physical discipline which:

(i) is administered by a parent or person in loco parentis;

(ii) is perpetrated for the sole purpose of restraining or
correcting the child;

(iii) is reasonable in manner and moderate in degree;

(iv) has not brought about permanent or lasting damage to
the child; and

(v) is not reckless or grossly negligent behavior by the
parents.

(b) commits or allows to be committed against the child a
sexual offense as defined by the laws of this State or engages in acts or
omissions that present a substantial risk that a sexual offense as defined in
the laws of this State would be committed against the child;

(c) fails to supply the child with adequate food, clothing,
shelter, or education as required under Article 1 of Chapter 65 of Title 59,
supervision appropriate to the child's age and development, or health care
though financially able to do so or offered financial or other reasonable means
to do so and the failure to do so has caused or presents a substantial risk of
causing physical or mental injury. However, a child's absences from school may
not be considered abuse or neglect unless the school has made efforts to bring
about the child's attendance, and those efforts were unsuccessful because of
the parents' refusal to cooperate. For the purpose of this chapter
"adequate health care" includes any medical or nonmedical remedial
health care permitted or authorized under state law;

(d) abandons the child;

(e) encourages, condones, or approves the commission of
delinquent acts by the child and the commission of the acts are shown to be the
result of the encouragement, condonation, or approval; or

(f) has committed abuse or neglect as described in
subsections (a) through (e) such that a child who subsequently becomes part of
the person's household is at substantial risk of one of those forms of abuse or
neglect.

(5) "Child protective investigation" means an
inquiry conducted by the department in response to a report of child abuse or
neglect made pursuant to this chapter.

(6) "Child protective services" means assistance
provided by the department as a result of indicated reports or affirmative
determinations of child abuse or neglect, including assistance ordered by the
family court or consented to by the family. The objectives of child protective
services are to:

(a) protect the child's safety and welfare; and

(b) maintain the child within the family unless the safety
of the child requires placement outside the home.

(7) "Court" means the family court.

(8) "Department" means the Department of Social
Services.

(9) "Emergency protective custody" means the right
to physical custody of a child for a temporary period of no more than
twenty-four hours to protect the child from imminent danger.

Emergency protective custody may be taken only by a law
enforcement officer pursuant to this chapter.

(10) "Guardianship of a child" means the duty and
authority vested in a person by the family court to make certain decisions
regarding a child, including:

(a) consenting to a marriage, enlistment in the armed
forces, and medical and surgical treatment;

(b) representing a child in legal actions and to make other
decisions of substantial legal significance affecting a child; and

(c) rights and responsibilities of legal custody when legal
custody has not been vested by the court in another person, agency, or
institution.

(11) "Indicated report" means a report of child
abuse or neglect supported by facts which warrant a finding by a preponderance
of evidence that abuse or neglect is more likely than not to have occurred.

(12) "Institutional child abuse and neglect" means
situations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect where the person
responsible for the child's welfare is the employee of a public or private
residential home, institution, or agency.

(13) "Legal custody" means the right to the
physical custody, care, and control of a child; the right to determine where
the child shall live; the right and duty to provide protection, food, clothing,
shelter, ordinary medical care, education, supervision, and discipline for a
child and in an emergency to authorize surgery or other extraordinary care. The
court may in its order place other rights and duties with the legal custodian.
Unless otherwise provided by court order, the parent or guardian retains the
right to make decisions of substantial legal significance affecting the child,
including consent to a marriage, enlistment in the armed forces, and major
nonemergency medical and surgical treatment, the obligation to provide
financial support or other funds for the care of the child, and other residual
rights or obligations as may be provided by order of the court.

(14) "Mental injury" means an injury to the
intellectual, emotional, or psychological capacity or functioning of a child as
evidenced by a discernible and substantial impairment of the child's ability to
function when the existence of that impairment is supported by the opinion of a
mental health professional or medical professional.

(15) "Party in interest" includes the child, the
child's attorney and guardian ad litem, the natural parent, an individual with
physical or legal custody of the child, the foster parent, and the local foster
care review board.

(16) "Person responsible for a child's welfare"
includes the child's parent, guardian, foster parent, an operator, employee, or
caregiver, as defined by Section 63-13-20, of a public or private residential
home, institution, agency, or childcare facility or an adult who has assumed
the role or responsibility of a parent or guardian for the child, but who does
not necessarily have legal custody of the child. A person whose only role is as
a caregiver and whose contact is only incidental with a child, such as a babysitter
or a person who has only incidental contact but may not be a caretaker, has not
assumed the role or responsibility of a parent or guardian. An investigation
pursuant to Section 63-7-920 must be initiated when the information contained
in a report otherwise sufficient under this section does not establish whether
the person has assumed the role or responsibility of a parent or guardian for
the child.

(17) "Physical custody" means the lawful, actual
possession and control of a child.

(18) "Physical injury" means death or permanent or
temporary disfigurement or impairment of any bodily organ or function.

(19) "Preponderance of evidence" means evidence
which, when fairly considered, is more convincing as to its truth than the
evidence in opposition.

(20) "Probable cause" means facts and
circumstances based upon accurate and reliable information, including hearsay,
that would justify a reasonable person to believe that a child subject to a
report under this chapter is abused or neglected.

(21) "Protective services unit" means the unit
established within the Department of Social Services which has prime
responsibility for state efforts to strengthen and improve the prevention,
identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

(22) "Subject of the report" means a person who is
alleged or determined to have abused or neglected the child, who is mentioned
by name in a report or finding.

(23) "Suspected report" means all initial reports
of child abuse or neglect received pursuant to this chapter.

(24) "Unfounded report" means a report made
pursuant to this chapter for which there is not a preponderance of evidence to
believe that the child is abused or neglected. For the purposes of this
chapter, it is presumed that all reports are unfounded unless the department
determines otherwise.

(A) A physician, nurse, dentist, optometrist, medical
examiner, or coroner, or an employee of a county medical examiner's or
coroner's office, or any other medical, emergency medical services, mental
health, or allied health professional, member of the clergy including a
Christian Science Practitioner or religious healer, school teacher, counselor,
principal, assistant principal, social or public assistance worker, substance
abuse treatment staff, or childcare worker in a childcare center or foster care
facility, police or law enforcement officer, undertaker, funeral home director
or employee of a funeral home, persons responsible for processing films,
computer technician, or a judge must report in accordance with this section
when in the person's professional capacity the person has received information
which gives the person reason to believe that a child has been or may be abused
or neglected as defined in Section 63-7-20.

(B) If a person required to report pursuant to subsection
(A) has received information in the person's professional capacity which gives
the person reason to believe that a child's physical or mental health or
welfare has been or may be adversely affected by acts or omissions that would
be child abuse or neglect if committed by a parent, guardian, or other person
responsible for the child's welfare, but the reporter believes that the act or
omission was committed by a person other than the parent, guardian, or other
person responsible for the child's welfare, the reporter must make a report to
the appropriate law enforcement agency.

(C) Except as provided in subsection (A), any person who has
reason to believe that a child's physical or mental health or welfare has been
or may be adversely affected by abuse and neglect may report in accordance with
this section.

(D) Reports of child abuse or neglect may be made orally by
telephone or otherwise to the county department of social services or to a law
enforcement agency in the county where the child resides or is found.

(A) Where reports are made pursuant to Section 63-7-310 to a
law enforcement agency, the law enforcement agency shall notify the county
department of social services of the law enforcement's response to the report
at the earliest possible time.

(B) Where a county or contiguous counties have established
multicounty child protective services, the county department of social services
immediately shall transfer reports pursuant to this section to the service.

(A) The identity of the person making a report pursuant to
this section must be kept confidential by the agency or department receiving
the report and must not be disclosed except as provided for in subsection (B)
or (C) or as otherwise provided for in this chapter.

(B) When the department refers a report to a law enforcement
agency for a criminal investigation, the department must inform the law
enforcement agency of the identity of the person who reported the child abuse
or neglect. The identity of the reporter must only be used by the law
enforcement agency to further the criminal investigation arising from the
report, and the agency must not disclose the reporter's identity to any person
other than an employee of the agency who is involved in the criminal
investigation arising from the report. If the reporter testifies in a criminal
proceeding arising from the report, it must not be disclosed that the reporter
made the report.

(C) When a law enforcement agency refers a report to the
department for an investigation or other response, the law enforcement agency
must inform the department of the identity of the person who reported the child
abuse or neglect. The department must not disclose the identity of the reporter
to any person except as authorized by Section 63-7-1990.

When a report is referred to the department for an
investigation or other response, the department must determine whether previous
reports have been made regarding the same child or the same subject of the
report. In determining whether previous reports have been made, the department
must determine whether there are any suspected, indicated, or unfounded reports
maintained pursuant to Section 63-7-930 regarding the same child or the same
subject of the report.

If the department does not conduct an investigation as a
result of information received pursuant to this subarticle, the department must
make a record of the information and must classify the record as a Category IV
unfounded report in accordance with Section 63-7-930. The department and law
enforcement are authorized to use information recorded pursuant to this section
for purposes of assessing risk and safety if additional contacts are made
concerning the child, the family, or the subject of the report.

A person required under Section 63-7-310 to report cases of
suspected child abuse or neglect, including workers of the department, who has
reason to believe a child has died as the result of child abuse or neglect,
shall report this information to the appropriate medical examiner or coroner.
Any other person who has reason to believe that a child has died as a result of
child abuse or neglect may report this information to the appropriate medical
examiner or coroner. The medical examiner or coroner shall accept the report for
investigation and shall report his findings to the appropriate law enforcement
agency, circuit solicitor's office, the county department of social services
and, if the institution making a report is a hospital, to the hospital.

The law enforcement officer upon receipt of a report of
domestic violence may report this information to the Department of Social
Services. The department may treat the case as suspected report of abuse and
may investigate the case as in other allegations of abuse in order to determine
if the child has been harmed.

A person required to report under Section 63-7-310 may take,
or cause to be taken, color photographs of the areas of trauma visible on a
child who is the subject of a report and, if medically indicated, a physician
may cause to be performed a radiological examination or other medical
examinations or tests of the child without the consent of the child's parents or
guardians. Copies of all photographs, negatives, radiological, and other
medical reports must be sent to the department at the time a report pursuant to
Section 63-7-310 is made, or as soon as reasonably possible after the report is
made.

A person required or permitted to report pursuant to Section
63-7-310 or who participates in an investigation or judicial proceedings
resulting from the report, acting in good faith, is immune from civil and
criminal liability which might otherwise result by reason of these actions. In
all such civil or criminal proceedings, good faith is rebuttably presumed.
Immunity under this section extends to full disclosure by the person of facts
which gave the person reason to believe that the child's physical or mental
health or welfare had been or might be adversely affected by abuse or neglect.

An employee, volunteer, or official of the Department of
Social Services required or authorized to perform child protective or child
welfare-related functions or an individual with whom the department has
contracted to convene family group conferences or a law enforcement officer
required or authorized to perform child protective or child welfare related
functions is immune from civil or criminal liability which might otherwise
result by reason of acts or omissions within the scope of the official duties
of the employee, volunteer, convener, officer, or official, as long as the
employee, volunteer, convener, officer, or official acted in good faith and was
not reckless, wilful, wanton, or grossly negligent. In all such civil or
criminal proceedings good faith is rebuttably presumed. This grant of immunity
is cumulative to and does not replace any other immunity provided under the
South Carolina Tort Claims Act.

A person required to report a case of child abuse or neglect
or a person required to perform any other function under this article who
knowingly fails to do so, or a person who threatens or attempts to intimidate a
witness is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more
than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

The privileged quality of communication between husband and
wife and any professional person and his patient or client, except that between
attorney and client or clergy member, including Christian Science Practitioner
or religious healer, and penitent, is abrogated and does not constitute grounds
for failure to report or the exclusion of evidence in a civil protective
proceeding resulting from a report pursuant to this article. However, a clergy
member, including Christian Science Practitioner or religious healer, must
report in accordance with this subarticle except when information is received
from the alleged perpetrator of the abuse and neglect during a communication
that is protected by the clergy and penitent privilege as provided for in
Section 19-11-90.

(A) If the family court determines pursuant to Section
63-7-2000 that a person has made a report of suspected child abuse or neglect
maliciously or in bad faith or if a person has been found guilty of making a
false report pursuant to Section 63-7-440, the department may bring a civil
action to recover the costs of the department's investigation and proceedings
associated with the investigation, including attorney's fees. The department
also is entitled to recover costs and attorney's fees incurred in the civil
action authorized by this section. The decision of whether to bring a civil
action pursuant to this section is in the sole discretion of the department.

(B) If the family court determines pursuant to Section
63-7-2000 that a person has made a false report of suspected child abuse or
neglect maliciously or in bad faith or if a person has been found guilty of
making a false report pursuant to Section 63-7-440, a person who was subject of
the false report has a civil cause of action against the person who made the
false report and is entitled to recover from the person who made the false
report such relief as may be appropriate, including:

(A) The Department of Social Services Protective Services
shall inform all persons required to report under this subarticle of the
nature, problem, and extent of child abuse and neglect and of their duties and
responsibilities in accordance with this article. The department also, on a
continuing basis, shall conduct training programs for department staff and
appropriate training for persons required to report under this subarticle.

(B) The department, on a continuing basis, shall inform the
public of the nature, problem, and extent of the child abuse and neglect and of
the remedial and therapeutic services available to children and their families.
The department shall encourage families to seek help consistent with Section
63-7-30.

(C) The department, on a continuing basis, shall actively
publicize the appropriate telephone numbers to receive reports of suspected
child abuse and neglect, including the twenty-four hour, statewide, toll-free
telephone service and respective numbers of the county department offices.

When used in this chapter and unless otherwise defined or
the specific context indicates otherwise:

(1) "Child" or "juvenile" means a person
less than seventeen years of age. "Child" or "juvenile"
does not mean a person sixteen years of age or older who is charged with a
Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which
provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more. However,
a person sixteen years of age who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony
as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of
imprisonment of fifteen years or more may be remanded to the family court for
disposition of the charge at the discretion of the solicitor. An additional or
accompanying charge associated with the charges contained in this item must be
heard by the court with jurisdiction over the offenses contained in this item.

(2) "Court" means the family court.

(3) "Criminal justice purpose" means:

(a) the performance of any activity directly involving the
detection, apprehension, capture from escape or elopement, detention, pretrial
release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, supervision, or
rehabilitation of accused or adjudicated persons or criminal offenders; or

(b) the collection, storage, and dissemination of child
offense history records.

(4) "Department" means the Department of Juvenile
Justice.

(5) "Guardian" means a person who legally has the
care and management of a child.

(8) "Parole board" means the Board of Juvenile
Parole under the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(9) "Status offense" means an offense which would
not be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult including, but not
limited to, incorrigibility or beyond the control of parents, truancy, running
away, playing or loitering in a billiard room, playing a pinball machine, or
gaining admission to a theater by false identification.

(A) It is the duty of other state agencies providing
financial assistance and other children's services related to the purposes of
this chapter to cooperate with the department in carrying out its
responsibilities to children and their families.

(B) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to relieve a
state or local unit of government of any preexisting legal obligation to
provide payments, services, or facilities.

(A) The Governor shall appoint a director of the department
with the advice and consent of the Senate who shall possess qualifications necessary
to manage the affairs of the department. If a vacancy occurs in the office when
the Senate is not in session, the Governor may appoint a director to fill the
vacancy until the Senate acts upon the appointment.

(B) The director is subject to removal by the Governor as
provided for in Section 1-3-240.

(C) The director must execute a good and sufficient bond
payable to the State in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, conditioned for the
faithful performance of the duties of the director's office and the accurate
accounting for all monies and property coming into the director's hands. The
bond must be executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the
laws of this State, and the premium on the bond must be paid by the State out
of the department's appropriations.

(A) The director is the chief executive officer of the
department. The director may appoint and employ officers and employees
necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of the department and
shall ensure that the department's organizational structure differentiates
between separate divisions, the community-based services and institutional
services of the department.

(B) The director is vested with the exclusive responsibility
for policy of the department to carry out the responsibilities, duties, and
privileges provided for in this chapter.

An annual report of the department must be prepared by the
director which shall include an account of all funds received and expended,
persons served by the department including a report of the state and condition
of the correctional institutions, and community programs operated by the
department.

The department shall provide community services as the
director shall assign to it which shall include, but are not limited to:

(1) family court intake screening and referral counseling;

(2) serving, advising, and counseling children placed on
probation by the family court;

(3) serving, advising, and counseling children in
institutions as may be necessary for the placement of the children in a proper
environment after release and for the placement of children in suitable jobs
where necessary and proper;

(4) supervising and guiding children released or
conditionally released from institutions;

(5) counseling children released or conditionally released
from its commitment facilities;

(6) coordinating the activities of supporting community
agencies which aid in the social adjustment of children released from its
commitment facilities;

(7) providing or arranging for necessary services leading to
the rehabilitation of delinquents either within the department or through
cooperative arrangements with other appropriate agencies;

(8) providing counseling and supervision for a child under
twelve years of age who has been adjudicated delinquent or convicted of a crime
or who has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, when other suitable
personnel is not available and upon request of the court;

(9) providing detention screening services when a child is
taken into custody for violation of a law or ordinance as provided for in this
chapter;

(10) providing prevention services including short- and
long-range planning, establishing statewide priorities and standards,
developing public awareness programs, and providing technical assistance to
local government in the development of prevention programs;

(11) developing secure and nonsecure alternatives to jail;

(12) providing a variety of community-based programs to
augment regular probation services including, but not limited to, volunteer
services, restitution, community-work programs, family counseling, and contract
probation with specific sanctions for various types of behavior;

(13) providing a variety of community-based programs to
serve as alternatives to institutions including, but not limited to, halfway
houses, work release, intensive supervision services, restitution, forestry and
wilderness camps, marine science programs, and other residential and
nonresidential programs;

(14) providing programs to divert juveniles, where proper
and appropriate, from the juvenile justice system;

(15) juveniles must be assigned to intensive probation or
aftercare services by the Department of Juvenile Justice. Juveniles assigned to
these intensive supervision services must be those juveniles who require
enhanced supervision, monitoring and contacts, or a higher level of treatment
services. Intensive supervision must be provided by the department in all
regions of the State. In conjunction with establishing these intensive
supervision services, the department shall develop an array of graduated
sanctions and impose these sanctions on offenders being provided intensive
supervision services for technical rule violations and minor infractions,
whenever feasible to do so, in lieu of re-incarceration of the juvenile in a
secure correctional facility. The array of graduated sanctions developed by the
department may include, as a condition of probation or parole, placement of a
juvenile in a staff or environmentally secure residential program. Case workers
selected to monitor, supervise, and serve juveniles assigned to intensive
supervision services shall have caseloads of no more than twenty juveniles.

(2) managing, operating, and supervising Birchwood, Willow Lane, John G. Richards, and other facilities as the director may establish;

(3) establishing and maintaining residential and
nonresidential reception and evaluation centers at which all children committed
to its custody by a circuit or family court must be received, examined, and
evaluated before assignment to one of its institutions or before other
disposition or recommendation is made concerning the child. The commitment of a
child to a reception and evaluation center or youth correctional institution of
the department may be made only after the child has been adjudicated
delinquent. The evaluation conducted by the reception and evaluation centers
includes, but is not limited to:

(b) an investigation and consideration of family and
community environment and other facts in the background of the person concerned
that might relate to the person's delinquency;

(c) a determination of the correctional or custodial care
that would be most appropriate. The department shall create facilities and
employ personnel as will enable the centers to conduct the necessary physical,
mental, and psychological examinations required by this section;

(4) providing juvenile detention services for juveniles
charged with having committed a criminal offense who are found, after a
detention screening or detention hearing, to require detention or placement
outside the home pending an adjudication of delinquency or dispositional
hearing. Detention services provided by the department for the benefit of the
counties and municipalities of this State must include secure juvenile
detention centers. The size and capacity of the juvenile detention facilities
needed must be determined by the department after its consideration and review
of minimum standards for local detention facilities in South Carolina for the
design, construction, and operation of juvenile detention centers. These
recognized state standards must be met or exceeded by the department in
determining the size and capacity of the juvenile detention centers and in
planning for the construction and operation of the facilities. The department
shall determine and announce the anticipated maximum operational capacity of
each facility and shall contact each county and municipal governmental body in
this State for the purpose of determining which counties or municipalities
anticipate utilizing these facilities upon each facility becoming operational.
The department shall inform each county and municipal governmental body of the
existing state and federal laws regarding the confinement of juveniles charged
with committing criminal offenses, of each county's and municipality's ability
to develop its own facility or to contract with other counties or
municipalities for the development of a regional facility, and of the
availability of the department's facilities. This notice must be provided to
each county and municipality for the purpose of determining which county
governmental bodies desire to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with
the department for the detention of juveniles from their particular community
who are charged with committing a criminal offense for which pretrial detention
is both authorized and appropriate. No later than September 1, 1993, the
department shall report to the Budget and Control Board on the strategy of each
county to comply with requirements of counties under this chapter. The department
must include with its report a plan for the construction and the operation of
those facilities which are projected to be necessary for the preadjudicatory
detention of juveniles in this State. No later than September first of each
subsequent year, the department shall report to the board on the status of all
preadjudicatory juvenile detention facilities known to be operational or
planned, regardless of ownership or management. Beginning with the report to
the board which is due no later than September 1, 1996, the department must
include an annual status report on the numbers of juveniles in pretrial
detention who are awaiting disposition in general sessions court, whether they
have been waived by the family court or whether they qualify due to the offense
with which they are charged. The board then will coordinate with all
responsible and affected agencies and entities to ensure that adequate funding
is identified to prevent the detention or incarceration of juveniles who are
awaiting disposition by, or who are under the jurisdiction of, the family court
in adult jails anywhere within the State of South Carolina and to prevent the
detention of juveniles who are awaiting disposition by general sessions court
in facilities which do not provide actual sight and sound separation from
adults who are in detention or custody. Upon completion of each facility and
upon the determination by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the
Department of Corrections that each facility is staffed in accordance with relevant
standards and can be operated in accordance with these standards, the division
shall determine and announce the rated capacity of each facility. A facility
operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice for the preadjudicatory
detention of juveniles must be maintained and continued in operation for that
purpose until approved for conversion or closure by the Budget and Control
Board. However, a county or municipality which decides to maintain its own
approved facilities or which has entered into a regional intergovernmental
agreement, which has provided secure facilities for preadjudicatory juveniles,
and which meets the standards set forth above, may continue to operate these
facilities. County and regionally operated facilities are subject to inspection
by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the Department of Corrections for
compliance with the standards set forth above and those created pursuant to
Section 24-9-20. The division has the same enforcement authority over county,
municipal, and regionally operated secure juvenile detention facilities as that
which is provided in Section 24-9-30. In Department of Juvenile Justice
operated facilities, the department shall determine an amount of per diem for
each child detained in a center, which must be paid by the governing body of
the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense
occurred. The per diem paid by the governing body of the law enforcement agency
having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred must be based on the
average operating cost among all preadjudicatory state facilities. The
Department of Juvenile Justice must assume one-third of the per diem cost and
the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction
where the offense occurred must assume two-thirds of the cost. Per diem funds
received by the department must be placed in a separate account by the
department for operation of all preadjudicatory state facilities.
Transportation of the juvenile to and from a facility is the responsibility of
the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the offense was committed.
Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the
responsibility of the department;

(5) each secure facility which detains preadjudicatory youth
longer than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays,
regardless of ownership or management, must have sufficient personnel to
provide uninterrupted supervision and to provide administrative, program, and
support requirements. Each of these facilities must have a minimum of two
juvenile custodial officers on duty each shift, fully dressed, awake, and alert
to operate the facility. At least one person shall directly supervise the
juveniles at all times. At least one female juvenile custodial officer must be
present and available to the female detention population at all times. Staff on
duty must be sufficient to provide for a juvenile-staff ratio adequate for
custody, control, and supervision, and to provide full coverage of all
designated security posts, excluding administrative, program, and other support
staff. Staff shall prepare further a facility schedule of preplanned,
structured, and productive activities. Schedules must be developed which
include designated times for sleeping, dining, education, counseling,
recreation, visitation, and personal time. Daily schedules should minimize
idleness and promote constructive use of the juvenile's day. The Department of
Juvenile Justice shall provide educational programs and services to all
preadjudicatory juveniles in its custody. County, municipal, and regionally
operated facilities shall provide these services to all preadjudicatory
juveniles under the jurisdiction of the family court and all pretrial juveniles
awaiting general sessions court who are detained locally for more than
forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays, by contracting with
the Department of Juvenile Justice or by arranging the services through the
local school district in which the facility is located. It shall be the
responsibility of the school district where a local detention center which has
been approved to detain juveniles is located to provide adequate teaching staff
and to ensure compliance with the educational requirements of this State. Students
housed in approved local detention centers are to be included in the average
daily membership count of students for that district and reimbursement by the
Department of Education shall be made accordingly. Services which are arranged
locally must be approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice as meeting all
criteria developed under the authority of Section 63-19-380. Special needs
students who are detained locally shall have all services required by federal
and state laws and regulations;

(6) a county, municipality, or regional subdivision may
provide temporary holdover facilities for juveniles only if the facilities
comply with this section and with all standards created under the provisions of
Section 24-9-20, which must be monitored and enforced by the Jail and Prison
Inspection Division of the South Carolina Department of Corrections pursuant to
its authority under Sections 24-9-20 and 24-9-30. The standards shall provide
for the regulation of temporary holdover facilities with regard to adequate
square footage, juvenile accommodations, access to bathroom facilities,
lighting, ventilation, distinctions between secure and nonsecure temporary
holdover facilities, staffing qualifications, and additional requirements as
may be specified. These facilities may hold juveniles during the period between
initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a family court judge
for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays.
Preadjudicatory juveniles who are subsequently transferred to a juvenile
detention center may be housed in a temporary holdover facility when returned
to the community for a court appearance. However, the temporary housing shall
not exceed forty-eight hours.

The department may enter into agreements with the governing
bodies of other state departments or institutions for the purpose of effecting
a more efficient and economical management of any institution or program under
its supervision. The department is authorized to make contracts and expend
public funds as required to carry out the functions prescribed for it in this
chapter within the limits of appropriated funds.

All revenues generated from United States Department of
Agriculture grants, the Education Finance Act, the Detention Center, and Medicaid federal funding may be retained, carried forward, and expended by the
Department of Juvenile Justice, in accordance with applicable regulations, for
the costs associated with related programs.

functions prescribed for it in this article within the
limits of appropriated funds.

(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice is designated as a
special school district which shall operate a continuous progress education
program on a twelve-month basis. There is created within the department the
Education Division which shall provide academic and vocational training at the
Reception and Evaluation Center, Birchwood High School, Willow Lane Junior High School, and all other institutions operating under the department. Academic
and vocational training provided pursuant to this section shall meet all
educational standards prescribed by law and by the Department of Education for
public schools of the State including, but not limited to, compliance with and
operation under the provisions of the Education Finance Act, the Defined
Minimum Program, teacher and superintendent certification laws and regulations,
and other laws or regulations governing the education of children. The
department may prescribe additional requirements as it may from time to time
deem necessary.

(B) The State Superintendent of Education shall administer
the standards related to the school programs. Reports from the Department of
Education evaluating the educational program at all juvenile corrections
institutions and indicating whether or not the program meets the standards as
prescribed, must be made directly to the director. Department of Education
supervisory personnel as considered appropriate must be utilized for evaluating
the programs and for reporting to the director.

(C) Schools operated by the department shall receive funds
from the Department of Education under the same provisions as other public
schools in the State. Funds previously received by the Department of Juvenile
Justice from the South Carolina Department of Education for programs now being
consolidated under the Education Finance Act shall be disbursed to the
Department of Juvenile Justice by the Department of Education from the
appropriation provided in the annual general appropriations act and entitled
"Education Finance Act". The amount to be disbursed to the Department
of Juvenile Justice must be sufficient to produce funds equal to the product of
the number of students served by the Department of Juvenile Justice weighted
according to the criteria established by the South Carolina Department of
Education under the provisions of the Education Finance Act and the state
portion of the appropriated value statewide of the base student cost, adjusted
for operation of the department's twelve-month continuous progress education
program using a base of two hundred thirty-five instructional days instead of
one hundred ninety instructional days. The amount includes, but is not limited
to, all funding for teacher salary supplements, instructional purposes, or any
other funds disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice school district's
twelve-month continuous progress educational program. The Department of
Juvenile Justice shall comply with the provisions of subsection (4) of Section
59-20-50 and subsections (1), (2), (3)(a), (4)(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of
Section 59-20-60. The South Carolina Department of Education annually shall
determine that these provisions are being met and include its findings in the
report mandated in subsection (5)(e) of Section 59-20-60. If the accreditation
standards set forth in the Defined Minimum Program for the Department of
Juvenile Justice as approved by the State Board of Education are not met, funds
by this section shall be reduced the following fiscal year according to the
provisions set forth in the Education Finance Act.

(D) The director shall operate as the trustee for schools
under the department's jurisdiction for all administrative purposes, including
the receipt and expenditure of funds appropriated or granted to the schools for
any purpose. The director shall employ a full-time superintendent of schools
for the special school district. The superintendent shall hold a valid
superintendent's certificate from the Department of Education and shall serve
as the head of the Education Division.

(E) In lieu of classification by the Division of State
Personnel, the employment status of the superintendent of schools for the
department and all instructional personnel operating under the Education
Division of the department must be governed by the laws of the State regarding
employment of instructional personnel and regulations of the Department of
Education.

Juvenile correctional employees of the department, while
performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control,
transportation, or recapture of a juvenile offender within the jurisdiction of the
department, and other employees of the department authorized by the director to
perform similar functions as part of their official duties, have the status of
peace officers anywhere in this State in a matter relating to the custody,
control, transportation, or recapture of the juvenile. Employees of the
department's Division of Public Safety, on proper training and certification
from the Criminal Justice Academy and after having taken the oath of office
prescribed by law and the Constitution of this State, must continue to be
commissioned as state constables pursuant to Section 23-1-60.

(A) The department may charge and collect fees for
evaluation and treatment services provided for a person referred or temporarily
committed to its facilities either at the evaluation center in Columbia or any center or other facility of the department. Fees may be charged to a parent
or guardian or to the public or private agency responsible for the temporary
commitment or referral. In cases where insurance coverage is available, fees of
treatment or evaluation may be charged to the insurer. No fees may be charged
to a person who is finally committed to a custodial facility of the department,
and no person may be denied treatment or evaluation services because of
inability to pay for the services.

(B) The director shall approve and periodically review, a
schedule of maximum charges for the services of the department, including
residential care. The department shall adopt procedures to determine ability to
pay and may authorize its designees to reduce or waive charges based upon their
findings. No charge for services rendered by the department may exceed the
actual cost of the services at the facility rendering the services.

(C) The department shall establish a hearing and review
procedure so that parents or legal guardians of a person under the department's
jurisdiction may appeal charges made for services or may present to the
departmental officials information or evidence which, in their opinion, needs
to be considered in establishing charges.

(D) The department may utilize all legal procedures to
collect lawful claims. All funds collected pursuant to this section must be
deposited with the State Treasurer for use of the department in defraying the
cost of services for which the fees may be collected.

The director is authorized to sell mature trees, other
timber, and farm products and commodities from lands owned by the department.
Before the sale of timber, the director shall consult with the State Forester
to determine the economic feasibility of and obtain approval for the sales.
Funds derived from the sales must be credited to the account of the department
to be used for capital improvements subject to the approval of the State Budget
and Control Board.

The department may print or purchase for resale bumper
stickers and other informational material prepared to publicize and educate the
public concerning activities of the department. All these materials must have
"South Carolina" inscribed on the material. After the costs of the
materials have been recovered, all proceeds from the sale of the materials must
be deposited in the student welfare fund of the department and used for the
purposes prescribed for that fund.

(A) The director of the Department of Juvenile Justice may
establish a Youth Industries Program, consistent with all applicable state and
federal child labor laws, employing juveniles committed to the department. This
program may include:

(b) contracting with private industry for the manufacturing
and processing of goods, wares, or merchandise;

(c) contracting with other profit or nonprofit businesses or
commercial enterprises to provide the services enumerated in subitems (a) and
(b) within the department's Sheltered Workshop Program;

(2) manufacturing or processing industry or service which
utilizes juveniles in the manufacture or production of goods, wares,
merchandise, articles, or products or in providing services which may be needed
for the construction, operation, maintenance, or use of any office, department,
institution, or agency supported in whole or in part by this State or a
political subdivision of this State; or

(3) otherwise engaging juveniles in paid work opportunities
within the department, consistent with the general welfare of the department's
mission of rehabilitation and treatment.

(B) To implement the Youth Industries Program the director
may enter into contracts in the manner provided by law to implement its Youth
Industries Program. A contract may include rental or lease agreements for state
land or buildings or portions of state buildings on the grounds of an
institution or a facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice and if the
contract contains such rental or lease agreements, it must provide the business
entity with reasonable access to and egress from these grounds, buildings, and
facilities.

(C) In conducting the Youth Industries Program, the
department may purchase equipment, raw materials, and supplies in the manner
provided by law and may engage necessary supervisory personnel.

(D) The prices of articles or products manufactured or
produced or services rendered under the Youth Industries Program must be
uniform and nondiscriminating and must be as near to the usual market price for
these articles, products, or services as is practicable.

(E) All monies collected by the department from the sale or
disposition of articles and products manufactured or produced or from services
rendered by juveniles in the Youth Industries Program must be deposited into a
special account designated "Youth Industries Account". The monies
collected and deposited into this account must be used solely for the
purchasing of manufacturing supplies, equipment, machinery, and buildings for
the Youth Industries Program to pay the wages of the juveniles employed in the
program and the salaries of the necessary personnel in the program, and to
defray the necessary expenses of the program. The director must deduct from
wages paid to a juvenile:

(1) state, federal, and local taxes;

(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law,
court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and

(3) contributions to any fund established by law to
compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less
than five percent of gross wages.

(A) A juvenile may participate in the Youth Industries
Program established pursuant to Section 63-19-450 only on a voluntary basis and
only after the juvenile has been informed of the conditions of the employment.

(B) A juvenile participating in the Youth Industries
Program:

(1) providing services to private industry must be
compensated commensurate with the prevailing wage for work of a similar nature
in the private sector;

(2) is not considered an employee of the State and is not
eligible for unemployment compensation upon termination from the program;
however, a juvenile is entitled to all other work benefits, including worker's
compensation or its equivalent.

(C) The wages of a juvenile authorized to work in the Youth
Industries Program, if paid other than by the department, must be paid directly
to the Department of Juvenile Justice and credited to the juvenile's account.
If the wages are paid by an entity other than the department, these wages must
be paid directly to the department, and the department shall credit the wages
to the juvenile's account. The director must deduct from wages paid to a
juvenile:

(1) state, federal, and local taxes;

(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law,
court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and

(3) contributions to any fund established by law to
compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less
than five percent of gross wages.

These deductions may not exceed eighty percent of gross
wages.

(D) Juvenile participation in the Youth Industries Program
must not result in the displacement of employed workers in the State and must
not impair existing contracts.

It is unlawful to sell or offer for sale on the open market
of this State goods, wares, or merchandise manufactured or produced wholly or
in part by juvenile offenders in this or another state. However, this
subsection does not apply to:

(1) articles produced by juveniles on parole or probation or
in community supervision;

(2) products sold by the Department of Juvenile Justice made
by juveniles in its arts and crafts programs;

(3) articles or products sold to nonprofit corporations
incorporated under Article 1, Chapter 31, Title 33 or to organizations
operating in this State which have been granted an exemption under Section
501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;

(4) articles or products made in the Youth Industries
Program pursuant to Section 63-19-450, through contracts with private sector
businesses which provide work and vocational training opportunities for
juvenile offenders with physical or mental disabilities or who are mentally
retarded if the compensation is paid by the private sector business to the
juvenile offender on a piece rate basis;

(5) products sold intrastate or interstate produced by
juveniles employed in the Youth Industries Program;

(6) services provided by juveniles in the Youth Industries
Program including, but not limited to, restoration and reconditioning
activities, the packaging and handling of goods, wares, or merchandise, or the
dismantling and reassembling of products.

There is created a fund within the Department of Juvenile
Justice for the compensation of victims of crime. All contributions deducted
from a juvenile's wages pursuant to Section 63-19-450(E)(3) or 63-19-460(C)(3)
must be deposited into this fund. Of the amount contributed to the fund by each
juvenile, ninety-five percent must be paid by the department on behalf of the
juvenile as restitution to the victim or victims of the juvenile's adjudicated
crime as ordered by the family court or the releasing entity, and five percent
must be submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund. If the
amount of restitution ordered has been paid in full or if there is no victim of
the juvenile's adjudicated crime, the juvenile's contributions must be
submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund.

(A) There is created under the Department of Juvenile
Justice the Board of Juvenile Parole. The parole board is composed of ten
members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of
these members, one must be appointed from each of the six congressional
districts and four members must be appointed from the State at large. If a
vacancy occurs on the parole board when the Senate is not in session, the
Governor may appoint a member to fill the vacancy and the appointee is a de
facto member until the Senate acts upon the appointment.

(B) Members of the parole board shall serve four-year terms
and until their successors are appointed and qualify and these terms expire on
June thirtieth of the appropriate year.

(C) No member may be reappointed to the parole board until
two years after the expiration of a full four-year term.

The parole board shall elect from among its members a
chairman who shall serve a one-year term and who may not succeed himself as
chairman. The parole board may elect a vice-chairman and secretary and shall
fix the time and place of meetings. Rules and procedures for parole board
meetings, as considered advisable, must be adopted by the parole board. Six
members of the parole board constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business.

The members of the parole board must be reimbursed for
actual expenses incurred in attending parole board meetings and shall receive
as compensation the same per diem as provided by law for members of state
boards, committees, and commissions.

(A) When a child found violating a criminal law or ordinance
is taken into custody, the taking into custody is not an arrest. The
jurisdiction of the court attaches from the time of the taking into custody.
When a child is taken into custody, the officer taking the child into custody
shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child as soon as
possible. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the person taking the child
into custody may release the child to a parent, a responsible adult, a
responsible agent of a court-approved foster home, group home, nonsecure
facility, or program upon the written promise, signed by the person, to bring
the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. The
written promise, accompanied by a written report by the officer, must be
submitted to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as soon as
possible, but not later than twenty-four hours after the child is taken into
custody. If the person fails to produce the child as agreed, or upon notice
from the court, a summons or a warrant may be issued for the apprehension of the
person or of the child.

(B) When a child is not released pursuant to subsection (A),
the officer taking the child into custody shall immediately notify the
authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice, who shall
respond within one hour by telephone or to the location where the child is
being detained. Upon responding, the authorized representative of the
department shall review the facts in the officer's report or petition and any
other relevant facts and advise the officer if, in his opinion, there is a need
for detention of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to
the authorized representatives of the department and must state:

(1) the facts of the offense;

(2) the reason why the child was not released to the parent.
Unless the child is to be detained, the child must be released by the officer
to the custody of his parents or other responsible adult upon their written
promise to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court
may direct. However, if the offense for which the child was taken into custody
is a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, the child may be released
only by the officer who took the child into custody. If the officer does not
consent to the release of the child, the parents or other responsible adult may
apply to any judge of the family court within the circuit for an ex parte order
of release of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the
family court judge. The family court judge may establish conditions for such
release.

(C) When a child is charged by a law enforcement officer for
an offense which would be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, not
including a traffic or wildlife violation over which courts other than the
family court have concurrent jurisdiction as provided in Section 63-3-520, the
law enforcement officer also shall notify the principal of the school in which
the child is enrolled, if any, of the nature of the offense. This information
may be used by the principal for monitoring and supervisory purposes but
otherwise must be kept confidential by the principal in the same manner
required by Section 63-19-2220(E).

(D) Juveniles may be held in nonsecure custody within the
law enforcement center for only the time necessary for purposes of
identification, investigation, detention, intake screening, awaiting release to
parents or other responsible adult, or awaiting transfer to a juvenile
detention facility or to the court for a detention hearing.

(A) When the officer who took the child into custody
determines that placement of a juvenile outside the home is necessary, the
authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice shall make a
diligent effort to place the child in an approved home, program, or facility,
other than a secure juvenile detention facility, when these alternatives are
appropriate and available.

(B) A child is eligible for detention in a secure juvenile
detention facility only if the child:

(1) is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section
16-1-60;

(2) is charged with a crime which, if committed by an adult,
would be a felony or a misdemeanor other than a violent crime, and the child:

(a) is already detained or on probation or conditional
release or is awaiting adjudication in connection with another delinquency
proceeding;

(b) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failures to
appear at court proceedings;

(c) has a demonstrable recent record of violent conduct
resulting in physical injury to others; or

(d) has a demonstrable recent record of adjudications for
other felonies or misdemeanors; and

(i) there is reason to believe the child is a flight risk or
poses a threat of serious harm to others; or

(ii) the instant offense involved the use of a firearm;

(3) is a fugitive from another jurisdiction;

(4) requests protection in writing under circumstances that
present an immediate threat of serious physical injury;

(5) had in his possession a deadly weapon;

(6) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failure to
comply with prior placement orders including, but not limited to, a house
arrest order;

(7) has no suitable alternative placement and it is
determined that detention is in the child's best interest or is necessary to
protect the child or public, or both; or

(8) is charged with an assault and battery or an assault and
battery of a high and aggravated nature on school grounds or at a
school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an
official capacity.

A child who meets the criteria provided in this subsection
is eligible for detention. Detention is not mandatory for a child meeting the
criteria if that child can be supervised adequately at home or in a less secure
setting or program. If the officer does not consent to the release of the
child, the parents or other responsible adult may apply to the family court
within the circuit for an ex parte order of release of the child. The officer's
written report must be furnished to the family court judge who may establish
conditions for the release.

(C) No child may be placed in secure confinement or ordered
detained by the court in secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of
detention for adults for more than six hours. However, the prohibition against
the secure confinement of juveniles in adult jails does not apply to juveniles
who have been waived to the court of general sessions for the purpose of
standing trial as an adult. Juveniles placed in secure confinement in an adult
jail during this six-hour period must be confined in an area of the jail which
is separated by sight and sound from adults similarly confined.

(D) Temporary holdover facilities may hold juveniles during
the period between initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a
family court judge for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and
state holidays.

(E) A child who is taken into custody because of a violation
of law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if
committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained in an adult
detention facility. A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of
the law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if
committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained more than
twenty-four hours in a juvenile detention facility, unless an order previously
has been issued by the court, of which the child has notice and which notifies
the child that further violation of the court's order may result in the secure
detention of that child in a juvenile detention facility. If a juvenile is
ordered detained for violating a valid court order, the juvenile may be held in
secure confinement in a juvenile detention facility for not more than
seventy-two hours, excluding weekends and holidays. However, nothing in this
section precludes a law enforcement officer from taking a status offender into
custody.

(F) Children ten years of age and younger must not be
incarcerated in a jail or detention facility for any reason. Children eleven or
twelve years of age who are taken into custody for a violation of law which
would be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an
adult or who violates conditions of probation for such an offense must be incarcerated
in a jail or detention facility only by order of the family court.

(G) For purposes of this section, "adult jail" or
other place of detention for adults includes a state, county, or municipal
police station, law enforcement lockup, or holding cell. "Secure
confinement" means an area having bars or other restraints designed to
hold one person or a group of persons at a law enforcement location for any
period of time and for any reason. Secure confinement in an adult jail or other
place of detention does not include a room or a multipurpose area within the
law enforcement center which is not secured by locks or other security devices.
Rooms or areas of this type include lobbies, offices, and interrogation rooms.
Juveniles held in these areas are considered to be in nonsecure custody as long
as the room or area is not designed for or intended for use as a residential
area, the juvenile is not handcuffed to a stationary object while in the room
or area, and the juvenile is under continuous visual supervision by facility
staff while in this room or area which is located within the law enforcement
center. Secure confinement also does not include a room or area used by law
enforcement for processing "booking" purposes, irrespective of
whether it is determined to be secure or nonsecure, as long as the juvenile's
confinement in the area is limited to the time necessary to fingerprint,
photograph, or otherwise "book" the juvenile in accordance with state
law.

(A) If the officer who took the child into custody has not
released the child to the custody the child's parents or other responsible
adult, the court shall hold a detention hearing within forty-eight hours from
the time the child was taken into custody, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and
holidays. At this hearing, the authorized representative of the department
shall submit to the court a report stating the facts surrounding the case and a
recommendation as to the child's continued detention pending the adjudicatory
and dispositional hearings. The court shall appoint counsel for the child if
none is retained. No child may proceed without counsel in this hearing, unless
the child waives the right to counsel and then only after consulting at least
once with an attorney. At the conclusion of this hearing, the court shall
determine whether probable cause exists to justify the detention of the child
and the appropriateness of, and need for, the child's continued detention. If
continued detention of a juvenile is considered appropriate by the court and if
a juvenile detention facility exists in that county which meets state and
federal requirements for the secure detention of juveniles or if that facility
exists in another county with which the committing county has a contract for
the secure detention of its juveniles and if commitment of a juvenile by the
court to that facility does not cause the facility to exceed its design and
operational capacity, the family court shall order the detention of the
juvenile in that facility. A juvenile must not be detained in secure
confinement in excess of ninety days except in exceptional circumstances as
determined by the court. A detained juvenile is entitled to further and
periodic review:

(1) within ten days following the juvenile's initial
detention hearing;

(2) within thirty days following the ten-day hearing; and

(3) at any other time for good cause shown upon motion of
the child, the State, or the department.

If the child does not qualify for detention or otherwise require
continued detention under the terms of Section 63-19-820(A) or (B), the child
must be released to a parent, guardian, or other responsible person.

(B) A juvenile ordered detained in a facility must be
screened within twenty-four hours by a social worker or if considered
appropriate by a psychologist in order to determine whether the juvenile is
emotionally disturbed, mentally ill, or otherwise in need of services. The
services must be provided immediately.

Provisions must be made for a detention home or homes for
the temporary detention of children to be conducted by the court or, subject to
the approval and supervision of the court, by an appropriate public agency; or
the court may arrange for the use of private homes for detention, subject to
the supervision of the court or other agency, or may arrange with an
institution or agency to receive for temporary care and custody children within
the jurisdiction of the court.

No child may be transported to a juvenile detention facility
in a police vehicle which also contains adults under arrest. When a child is to
be transported to or from a juvenile detention facility following a detention
screening review conducted by the Department of Juvenile Justice or after a
detention order has been issued by the court, the local law enforcement agency
which originally took the child into custody shall transport this child to or
from the juvenile detention facility. Transportation of juveniles between
department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department.

(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide intake
and probation services for juveniles brought before the family courts of this
State and for persons committed or referred to the department in cooperation
with all local officials or agencies concerned. The role and function of intake
is to independently assess the circumstances and needs of children referred for
possible prosecution in the family court. Recommendations by the department as
to intake must be reviewed by the office of the solicitor in the circuit
concerned, and the final determination as to whether or not the juvenile is to
be prosecuted in the family court must be made by the solicitor or by the
solicitor's authorized assistant. Statements of the juvenile contained in the
department's files must not be furnished to the solicitor's office as part of
the intake review procedure, and the solicitor's office must not be privy to
these statements in connection with its intake review.

(B) Where circumstances do not warrant prosecution in the
discretion of the solicitor, the intake counselor shall offer referral
assistance for services as appropriate for the child and family. In the event
that a juvenile is adjudicated to be delinquent or found by the family court to
be in violation of the terms of probation, the intake counselor shall offer
appropriate dispositional recommendations to the family court for its
consideration and determination of the disposition of the case.

The parent or custodian of a child, an official of a child
welfare board, a public official charged by law with the care of the poor, the
recognized agents of an agency, association, society, or institution, a person
having knowledge or information of a nature which convinces the person that a
child is delinquent or that a child, by reason of his own acts in accordance
with this chapter, is subject to the jurisdiction of the court, any person who
has suffered injury through the delinquency of a child, or an officer having an
arrested child in charge, may institute a proceeding respecting the child.

(A) Whenever a person informs the court that a child is
within the purview of this chapter, the court shall make preliminary inquiry to
determine whether the interest of the public or of the child requires that
further action be taken. Thereupon, the court may make an informal adjustment
as is practicable without a petition or may authorize a petition to be filed by
any person.

(B) The petition and all subsequent court documents must be
entitled:

"In the Family Court of ____ County.

In the Interest of ___, a child under seventeen years of
age."

The petition must be verified and may be upon information
and belief. It shall set forth plainly:

(1) the facts which bring the child within the purview of
this chapter;

(2) the name, age, and residence of the child;

(3) the names and residences of the child's parents;

(4) the name and residence of a legal guardian, if there is
one, of the person or persons having custody of or control of the child, or of
the nearest known relative if no parent or guardian can be found. If any of
these facts are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall state that.

(C) Before the hearing of a case of a child, the judge shall
cause an investigation of all the facts pertaining to the issue to be made. The
investigation shall consist of an examination of the parentage and surroundings
of the child, the child's age, habits and history, and also shall include
inquiry into the home conditions, habits and character of the child's parents
or guardian, if that is necessary in the discretion of the court. In these
cases the court, if advisable, shall cause the child to be examined as to the
child's mentality by a competent and experienced psychologist or psychiatrist
who shall make a report of the findings. Before the hearing in the case of a
child, if the child attends school, a report on the child must be obtained from
the school which the child attends. The school officials shall furnish the
report upon the request of the court or its probation counselor. The court,
when it is considered necessary, shall cause a complete physical examination to
be made of the child by a competent physician.

(D) In a case where the delinquency proceedings may result in
commitment to an institution in which the child's freedom is curtailed, the
child or the child's parents or guardian must be given written notice with
particularity of the specific charge or factual allegations to be considered at
the hearing. The notice must be given as soon as practicable and sufficiently
in advance to permit preparation. The child or the child's parent or guardian
also must be advised in the notice of their right to be represented by counsel
and that, if they are unable to employ counsel, counsel will be appointed to
represent them. In the hearing, the parent and child also must be expressly
informed of their right to counsel and must be specifically required to
consider whether they do or do not waive the right of counsel.

Notwithstanding Title 17, Chapter 3, Defense of Indigents,
in determining indigence for the purpose of appointing legal counsel for a
child in a delinquency proceeding, the court shall determine the financial
ability of the child's parents to retain counsel for the child. If the court
determines that the parents are able to retain counsel for the child but the
parents refuse to retain counsel and the court appoints counsel, the court may
order the parents to reimburse the Indigent Defense Fund or pay the
court-appointed attorney in an amount to be determined by the court.

In accordance with the jurisdiction granted to the family
court pursuant to Sections 63-3-510, 63-3-520, and 63-3-530, jurisdiction over
a case involving a child must be transferred or retained as follows:

(1) If, during the pendency of a criminal or quasi-criminal
charge against a child in a circuit court of this State, it is ascertained that
the child was under the age of seventeen years at the time of committing the
alleged offense, it is the duty of the circuit court immediately to transfer
the case, together with all the papers, documents, and testimony connected with
it, to the family court of competent jurisdiction, except in those cases where
the Constitution gives to the circuit court exclusive jurisdiction or in those
cases where jurisdiction has properly been transferred to the circuit court by
the family court under the provisions of this section. The court making the
transfer shall order the child to be taken immediately to the place of
detention designated by the court or to that court itself, or shall release the
child to the custody of some suitable person to be brought before the court at
a time designated. The court then shall proceed as provided in this chapter.
The provisions of this section are applicable to all existing offenses and to
offenses created in the future unless the General Assembly specifically directs
otherwise.

(2) Whenever a child is brought before a magistrate or city
recorder and, in the opinion of the magistrate or city recorder, the child
should be brought to the family court of competent jurisdiction under the
provisions of this section, the magistrate or city recorder shall transfer the
case to the family court and direct that the child involved be taken there.

(3) When an action is brought in a circuit court which, in
the opinion of the judge, falls within the jurisdiction of the family court, he
may transfer the action upon his own motion or the motion of any party.

(4) If a child sixteen years of age or older is charged with
an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a misdemeanor, a Class E
or F felony as defined in Section 16-1-20, or a felony which provides for a
maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or less, and if the court, after full
investigation, considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or of
the public to retain jurisdiction, the court, in its discretion, acting as
committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings
to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offense if committed by
an adult.

(5) If a child fourteen or fifteen years of age is charged
with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a Class A, B, C, or D
felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum
term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more, the court, after full
investigation and hearing, may determine it contrary to the best interest of
the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction. The court, acting as
committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings
to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offenses if committed by
an adult.

(6) Within thirty days after the filing of a petition in the
family court alleging the child has committed the offense of murder or criminal
sexual conduct, the person executing the petition may request in writing that
the case be transferred to the court of general sessions with a view to
proceeding against the child as a criminal rather than as a child coming within
the purview of this chapter. The judge of the family court is authorized to
determine this request. If the request is denied, the petitioner may appeal
within five days to the circuit court. Upon the hearing of the appeal, the
judge of the circuit court is vested with the discretion of exercising and
asserting the jurisdiction of the court of general sessions or of relinquishing
jurisdiction to the family court. If the circuit judge elects to exercise the
jurisdiction of the general sessions court for trial of the case, he shall
issue an order to that effect, and then the family court has no further
jurisdiction in the matter.

(7) Once the family court relinquishes its jurisdiction over
the child and the child is bound over to be treated as an adult, Section
63-19-2020 dealing with the confidentiality of identity and fingerprints does
not apply.

(8) When jurisdiction is relinquished by the family court in
favor of another court, the court shall have full authority and power to grant
bail, hold a preliminary hearing and any other powers as now provided by law
for magistrates in such cases.

(9) If a child fourteen years of age or older is charged
with a violation of Section 16-23-430(1), Section 16-23-20, assault and battery
of a high and aggravated nature, or Section 44-53-445, the court, after full
investigation and hearing, if it considers it contrary to the best interest of
the child or the public to retain jurisdiction, acting as committing
magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court
which would have trial jurisdiction of the offenses if committed by an adult.

(10) If a child fourteen years of age or older is charged
with an offense which, if committed by an adult, provides for a term of
imprisonment of ten years or more and the child previously has been adjudicated
delinquent in family court or convicted in circuit court for two prior offenses
which, if committed by an adult, provide for a term of imprisonment of ten
years or more, the court acting as committing magistrate shall bind over the
child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial
jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult. For the purpose of this
item, an adjudication or conviction is considered a second adjudication or
conviction only if the date of the commission of the second offense occurred
subsequent to the imposition of the sentence for the first offense.

(A) When a child is found by decree of the court to be
subject to this chapter, the court shall in its decree make a finding of the
facts upon which the court exercises its jurisdiction over the child. Following
the decree, the court by order may:

(1) cause a child concerning whom a petition has been filed
to be examined or treated by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist and for
that purpose place the child in a hospital or other suitable facility;

(2) order care and treatment as it considers best, except as
otherwise provided in this section and may designate a state agency as the lead
agency to provide a family assessment to the court. The assessment shall include,
but is not limited to, the strengths and weaknesses of the family, problems
interfering with the functioning of the family and with the best interests of
the child, and recommendations for a comprehensive service plan to strengthen
the family and assist in resolving these issues.

The lead agency shall provide the family assessment to the
court in a timely manner, and the court shall conduct a hearing to review the
proposed plan and adopt a plan as part of its order that will best meet the
needs and best interest of the child. In arriving at a comprehensive plan, the
court shall consider:

(d) any other programs or services appropriate to the
child's and family's needs.

The lead agency is responsible for monitoring compliance
with the court-ordered plan and shall report to the court as the court
requires. In support of an order, the court may require the parents or other
persons having custody of the child or any other person who has been found by
the court to be encouraging, causing, or contributing to the acts or conditions
which bring the child within the purview of this chapter to do or omit to do
acts required or forbidden by law, when the judge considers the requirement
necessary for the welfare of the child. In case of failure to comply with the
requirement, the court may proceed against those persons for contempt of court;

(3) place the child on probation or under supervision in the
child's own home or in the custody of a suitable person elsewhere, upon
conditions as the court may determine. A child placed on probation by the court
remains under the authority of the court only until the expiration of the
specified term of the child's probation. This specified term of probation may
expire before but not after the eighteenth birthday of the child. Probation
means casework services during a continuance of the case. Probation must not be
ordered or administered as punishment but as a measure for the protection, guidance,
and well-being of the child and the child's family. Probation methods must be
directed to the discovery and correction of the basic causes of maladjustment
and to the development of the child's personality and character, with the aid
of the social resources of the community. As a condition of probation, the
court may order the child to participate in a community mentor program as
provided for in Section 63-19-1430. The court may impose monetary restitution
or participation in supervised work or community service, or both, as a
condition of probation. The Department of Juvenile Justice, in coordination
with local community agencies, shall develop and encourage employment of a
constructive nature designed to make reparation and to promote the rehabilitation
of the child. When considering the appropriate amount of monetary restitution
to be ordered, the court shall establish the monetary loss suffered by the
victim and then weigh and consider this amount against the number of
individuals involved in causing the monetary loss, the child's particular role
in causing this loss, and the child's ability to pay the amount over a
reasonable period of time. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop a
system for the transferring of court-ordered restitution from the child to the
victim or owner of property injured, destroyed, or stolen. As a condition of
probation the court may impose upon the child a fine not exceeding two hundred
dollars when the offense is one in which a magistrate, municipal, or circuit court
judge has the authority to impose a fine. A fine may be imposed when commitment
is suspended but not in addition to commitment;

(4) order the child to participate in a community mentor
program as provided in Section 63-19-1430;

(5) commit the child to the custody or to the guardianship
of a public or private institution or agency authorized to care for children or
to place them in family homes or under the guardianship of a suitable person.
Commitment must be for an indeterminate period but in no event beyond the
child's twenty-first birthday;

(6) require that a child under twelve years of age who is
adjudicated delinquent for an offense listed in Section 23-3-430(C) be given
appropriate psychiatric or psychological treatment to address the circumstances
of the offense for which the child was adjudicated; and

(7) dismiss the petition or otherwise terminate its
jurisdiction at any time on the motion of either party or on its own motion.

(B) Whenever the court commits a child to an institution or
agency, it shall transmit with the order of commitment a summary of its
information concerning the child, and the institution or agency shall give to
the court information concerning the child which the court may require. Counsel
of record, if any, must be notified by the court of an adjudication under this
section, and in the event there is no counsel of record, the child or the
child's parents or guardian must be notified of the adjudication by regular
mail from the court to the last address of the child or the child's parents or
guardian.

(C) No adjudication by the court of the status of a child is
a conviction, nor does the adjudication operate to impose civil disabilities
ordinarily resulting from conviction, nor may a child be charged with crime or
convicted in a court, except as provided in Section 63-19-1210(6). The
disposition made of a child or any evidence given in court does not disqualify
the child in a future civil service application or appointment.

(A) If a child is adjudicated delinquent for a status
offense or is found in violation of a court order relating to a status offense,
the court may suspend or restrict the child's driver's license until the
child's seventeenth birthday.

(B) If a child is adjudicated delinquent for violation of a
criminal offense or is found in violation of a court order relating to a
criminal offense or is found in violation of a term or condition of probation,
the court may suspend or restrict the child's driver's license until the
child's eighteenth birthday.

(C) If the court suspends the child's driver's license, the
child must submit the license to the court, and the court shall forward the
license to the Department of Motor Vehicles for license suspension. However, convictions
not related to the operation of a motor vehicle shall not result in increased
insurance premiums.

(D) If the court restricts the child's driver's license, the
court may restrict the child's driving privileges to driving only to and from
school or to and from work or as the court considers appropriate. Upon the
court restricting a child's driver's license, the child must submit the license
to the court and the court shall forward the license to the Department of Motor
Vehicles for reissuance of the license with the restriction clearly noted.

(E) Notwithstanding the definition of a "child" as
provided for in Section 63-19-20, the court may suspend or restrict the
driver's license of a child under the age of seventeen until the child's
eighteenth birthday if subsection (B) applies.

(F) Upon suspending or restricting a child's driver's
license under this section, the family court judge shall complete a form
provided by and which must be remitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

(B) The Attorney General's Office shall establish a Youth
Mentor Program to serve juvenile offenders under the jurisdiction of the family
court. The program shall consist of a church mentor program and a community
mentor program. Participation in the program may be required as a pretrial
diversion option by a solicitor or as an optional, alternative disposition by a
family court judge. The circuit solicitor may charge a juvenile offender who
participates in the Youth Mentor Program a fee to offset the actual cost of
administering the program; however, no juvenile offender is barred from the
program because of indigence. This program must be available for juveniles who
commit nonviolent offenses. For purposes of this subsection, nonviolent
offenses mean all offenses not listed in Section 16-1-60.

(C) When a child is charged with a nonviolent offense which
places him under the jurisdiction of the family court and the solicitor is of
the opinion that justice would be better served if the child completed a church
mentor program, the solicitor may divert the child to such a program. Upon
completion of the program, the proceedings in family court must be dismissed.

Participation in the church mentor program is voluntary, and
the child or his parents or guardians may refuse to participate based upon
their religious beliefs or for any other reason.

The Attorney General must establish guidelines for the
program, the mentors, and the churches, mosques, masjids, synagogues, and other
religious organizations that participate in the church mentor program.

(D) When a child is adjudicated delinquent for a nonviolent
offense in family court, the family court judge may order the child to participate
in the community mentor program. When a child is ordered to participate in the
community mentor program, he must be assigned to a community organization which
shall assign a mentor to the child. The mentor shall monitor the academic and
personal development of the child for a minimum period of six months and a
maximum period not exceeding one year as ordered by the court. Failure to
complete the program shall result in the child being brought before the family
court for appropriate sanctions or revocation of suspended commitment.

The Attorney General must establish guidelines for the
program, the mentors, and the community organizations that participate in the
community mentor program.

(A) A child, after the child's twelfth birthday and before
the seventeenth birthday or while under the jurisdiction of the family court
for disposition of an offense that occurred prior to the child's seventeenth
birthday, may be committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice
which shall arrange for placement in a suitable corrective environment.
Children under the age of twelve years may be committed only to the custody of
the department which shall arrange for placement in a suitable corrective
environment other than institutional confinement. No child under the age of
seventeen years may be committed or sentenced to any other penal or
correctional institution of this State.

(B) All commitments to the custody of the Department of
Juvenile Justice for delinquency as opposed to the conviction of a specific
crime may be made only for the reasons and in the manner prescribed in Sections
63-3-510, 63-3-520, 63-3-580, 63-3-600, 63-3-650, and this chapter, with
evaluations made and proceedings conducted only by the judges authorized to
order commitments in this section. When a child is committed to the custody of
the department, commitment must be for an indeterminate sentence, not extending
beyond the twenty-first birthday of the child unless sooner released by the
department, or for a determinate commitment sentence not to exceed ninety days.

(C) The court, before committing a child as a delinquent or
as a part of a sentence including commitments for contempt, shall order a
community evaluation or temporarily commit the child to the Department of
Juvenile Justice for not more than forty-five days for evaluation. A community
evaluation is equivalent to a residential evaluation, but it is not required to
include all components of a residential evaluation. However, in either evaluation
the department shall make a recommendation to the court on the appropriate
disposition of the case and shall submit that recommendation to the court
before final disposition. The court may waive in writing the evaluation of the
child and proceed to issue final disposition in the case if the child:

(1) has previously received a residential evaluation or a
community evaluation and the evaluation is available to the court;

(2) has been within the past year temporarily or finally
discharged or conditionally released for parole from a correctional institution
of the department, and the child's previous evaluation or other equivalent
information is available to the court; or

(D) When a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent or convicted
of a crime or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court
authorized to commit to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the
juvenile may be committed for an indeterminate period until the juvenile has
reached age twenty-one or until sooner released by the releasing entity or
released by order of a judge of the Supreme Court or the circuit court of this
State, rendered at chambers or otherwise, in a proceeding in the nature of an
application for a writ of habeas corpus. A juvenile who has not been paroled or
otherwise released from the custody of the department by the juvenile's
nineteenth birthday must be transferred to the custody and authority of the
Youthful Offender Division of the Department of Corrections. If not sooner
released by the releasing entity, the juvenile must be released by age
twenty-one according to the provisions of the juvenile's commitment; however,
notwithstanding the above provision, any juvenile committed as an adult
offender by order of the court of general sessions must be considered for
parole or other release according to the laws pertaining to release of adult
offenders.

(E) A juvenile committed to the Department of Juvenile
Justice following an adjudication for a violent offense contained in Section
16-1-60 or for the offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated
nature, who has not been paroled or released from the custody of the department
by his seventeenth birthday must be transferred to the custody and authority of
the Youthful Offender Division of the Department of Corrections. A juvenile who
has not been paroled or released from the custody of the department by his
nineteenth birthday must be transferred to the custody and authority of the
Youthful Offender Division of the Department of Corrections at age nineteen. If
not released sooner by the Board of Juvenile Parole, a juvenile transferred
pursuant to this subsection must be released by his twenty-first birthday
according to the provisions of his commitment. Notwithstanding the above
provision, a juvenile committed as an adult offender by order of the court of
general sessions must be considered for parole or other release according to
the laws pertaining to release of adult offenders.

(F) Notwithstanding subsections (A) and (E), a child may be
committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice or to a secure
evaluation center operated by the department for a determinate period not to
exceed ninety days when:

(1) the child has been adjudicated delinquent by a family
court judge for a status offense, as defined in Section 63-19-20, excluding
truancy, and the order acknowledges that the child has been afforded all due
process rights guaranteed to a child offender;

(2) the child is in contempt of court for violation of a
court order to attend school or an order issued as a result of the child's
adjudication of delinquency for a status offense, as defined in Section
63-19-20; or

(3) the child is determined by the court to have violated
the conditions of probation set forth by the court in an order issued as a
result of the child's adjudication of delinquency for a status offense, as
defined in Section 63-19-20 including truancy.

Orders issued pursuant to this subsection must acknowledge:

(a) that the child has been advised of all due process
rights afforded to a child offender; and

(b) that the court has received information from the
appropriate state or local agency or public entity that has reviewed the facts
and circumstances causing the child to be before the court.

(G) A child committed under this section may not be confined
with a child who has been determined by the department to be violent.

(H) After having served at least two-thirds of the time
ordered by a court, a child committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for
a determinate period pursuant to this section may be released by the department
prior to the expiration of the determinate period for "good behavior"
as determined by the department. The court, in its discretion, may state in the
order that the child is not to be released prior to the expiration of the
determinate period ordered by the court.

(I) Juveniles detained in any temporary holding facility or
juvenile detention center or who are temporarily committed for evaluation to a
Department of Juvenile Justice evaluation center for the offense for which they
were subsequently committed by the family court to the custody of the
Department of Juvenile Justice shall receive credit toward their parole
guidelines, if indeterminately sentenced, or credit toward their date of
release, if determinately sentenced, for each day they are detained in or
temporarily committed to any secure pre-dispositional facility, center, or
program.

(A) No juvenile may be committed to an institution under the
control of the Department of Juvenile Justice who is seriously handicapped by
mental illness or retardation. If, after a juvenile is referred to the Reception
and Evaluation Center, it is determined that the juvenile is mentally ill, as
defined in Section 44-23-10, or mentally retarded to an extent that the
juvenile could not be properly cared for in its custody, the department through
the voluntary admission process or by instituting necessary legal action may
accomplish the transfer of the juvenile to another state agency which in its
judgment is best qualified to care for the juvenile in accordance with the laws
of this State. This legal action must be brought in the juvenile's resident
county. The department shall establish standards with regard to the physical
and mental health of juveniles whom it can accept for commitment.

(B) When the state agency to which a juvenile is transferred
determines that it is appropriate to release from commitment that juvenile, the
state agency must submit a request for release to the releasing entity. If the
releasing entity does not grant the request to release the juvenile, the
juvenile must be placed in an environment consistent with the provisions of
this section.

(C) If a juvenile transferred to another state agency
pursuant to this section is absent from a treatment facility without proper
authorization, any state or local law enforcement officer upon the request of the
director, or a designee, of the state agency to which the juvenile has been
transferred and without the necessity of a warrant or a court order, may take
the juvenile into custody and return the juvenile to the facility designated by
the agency director or the designee.

A child committed under the terms of this chapter must be
conveyed by the sheriff, deputy sheriff, or persons appointed by the sheriff of
the county in which the child resides to the custody of the department, and the
expense of the conveyance and delivery must be borne by the county. The
committing judge may order that the child be transferred to the custody of the
department without the attendance of an officer or in a manner as may be advisable.

SECTION 63-19-1610.
Exclusive care; payment by local governments for use of facilities.

From the time of lawful reception of a child by the
Department of Juvenile Justice and during the child's stay in custody in a
correctional institution, facility, or program operated by the department, the
child shall be under the exclusive care, custody, and control of the
department. All expenses must be borne by the State except local governments
utilizing the juvenile detention services provided by the Department of
Juvenile Justice must pay the department a per diem of fifty dollars a day per
child. The department may apply the remainder of the funds generated by this
item, if any, to operational or capital expenses associated with juvenile
services provided by the department. If adequate funding is not received, the
department shall have flexibility to use funds from other programmatic areas to
maintain an appropriate level of service.

From the time of the lawful reception of a child into
custody by the department and during the period of the custody, the department
shall provide for, either solely or in cooperation with other agencies, the
care, custody, and control of the child, as well as make available instruction
as may be suited to the child's years and capacity that will enable the child
to learn a useful trade.

The department may grant furloughs, not to exceed thirty
days, under prescribed conditions to children domiciled in its custody
unaccompanied by a custodial agent. Failure by the child to return from a
furlough as directed must be deemed an escape.

(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice, when authorized by
an order of a circuit judge, must, after notice to the Department of
Corrections, temporarily shall transfer to the custody of the Youthful Offender
Division a child who has been committed to the custody of the department who is
more than seventeen years of age and whose presence in the custody of the
Department of Juvenile Justice appears to be seriously detrimental to the
welfare of others in custody. The director of the Department of Corrections
shall receive these children and shall properly care for them. Each child
transferred to the Youthful Offender Division is subject to all the rules and
discipline of the division. Children transferred to the Youthful Offender
Division pursuant to this section are under the authority of the division but
are subject to release Board of Juvenile Parole.

(B) The Youthful Offender Division at least quarterly shall
recommend to the parole board possible release of each child transferred to the
department or the child's return to institutions of the Department of Juvenile
Justice.

(A) While on the institutional grounds of the department, it
is unlawful to furnish, attempt to furnish, or to possess with the intent to
furnish, contraband to a juvenile committed to the custody of the Department of
Juvenile Justice. "Juvenile", for purposes of this section, is
defined as a person committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile
Justice. It is unlawful for a juvenile committed to the custody of the
department to possess contraband.

(B) For purposes of this section, "contraband" is
defined as:

(1) a device which may be used as a weapon including, but
not limited to, firearms, knives, blades, clubs, or billies;

(2) drugs of any type or description including, but not
limited to, marijuana, cocaine, and any other controlled substance as listed in
Chapter 53 of Title 44, for which a juvenile does not possess a current lawful
prescription;

(3) poisons or other dangerous chemicals which can cause
injury or death;

(4) flammable liquids of any type including, but not limited
to, gasoline, kerosene, or lighter fluid;

(5) any type of alcohol and any liquid containing any
concentration of intoxicating alcohol;

(6) keys, locks, or tools of any description not officially
issued to the juvenile by the department; or

(7) any additional items determined to be contraband by the
Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(C) If the director determines any additional items to be contraband,
a list of these items must be published and posted in conspicuous places so as
to be seen readily by a person entering the institutional grounds or on the
institutional grounds of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(D) An adult found violating this section is guilty of a
felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than one thousand dollars
nor more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not less than one year nor
more than ten years, or both.

Whenever a child is committed by the court to custody other
than that of the child's parents or is given medical, psychological, or
psychiatric treatment under order of the court, the solicitor of the county
where the child is a resident may petition the court to order the parent or
parents of the child to pay child support when the child is committed to or
detained in the custody of an approved local detention facility or the
Department of Juvenile Justice. If the parents of the child are living apart,
the court shall pursue child support payments from both parents. The court,
after giving the parent a reasonable opportunity to be heard, may order the
parent to pay, in the manner the court directs, in accordance with child
support guidelines promulgated by the Department of Social Services to cover in
whole or in part the support and treatment of the child. In making its
determination whether to order child support, the court shall consider the
conduct of the parent in supervising and providing care for the child. If the
parent wilfully fails or refuses to pay the amount ordered, the court may
proceed against the parent for contempt.

(A) The release and revocation of release of juveniles
adjudicated delinquent and committed to the department must be determined by:

(1) the department for juveniles adjudicated delinquent and
committed after March 31, 2007, for an indeterminate period for a status
offense or a misdemeanor, other than assault and battery of a high and
aggravated nature or assault with intent to kill, and for juveniles who have
violated probation for a status offense or a misdemeanor, other than assault
and battery of a high and aggravated nature or assault with intent to kill;

(2) the Board of Juvenile Parole for juveniles adjudicated
delinquent and committed for an offense other than an offense provided for in
item (1).

(B) For purposes of this chapter, "releasing
entity" means:

(1) the department for juveniles described in subsection
(A)(1);

(2) the Board of Juvenile Parole for juveniles described in
subsection (A)(2).

(A)(1) The Board of Juvenile Parole shall meet monthly, and
at other times as may be necessary, to review the records and progress of
juveniles committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, for
whom the board is the releasing entity, for the purpose of deciding the release
or revocation of release of these juveniles. The board shall make periodic
inspections, at least quarterly, of the records of these juveniles and may
issue temporary and final discharges or release these juveniles conditionally
and prescribe conditions for release into aftercare.

(2)(a) It is the right of a juvenile who has not committed a
violent offense, as defined by Section 16-1-60, and for whom the board is the
releasing entity, to appear personally before the board every three months for
the purpose of parole consideration, but no appearance may begin until the board
determines that an appropriate period of time has elapsed since the juvenile's
commitment.

(b) The board may waive the quarterly review of juveniles
committed to the department, for whom the board is the releasing entity, for
the commission of a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60, until the
juvenile reaches the minimum parole guidelines the board establishes for the
juvenile. At that point, the board may schedule its first review of the
juvenile from three months up to twelve months after the juvenile reaches the
minimum parole guidelines established by the board. The scheduling of
subsequent reviews is in the discretion of the board but must occur within
three to twelve months of the juvenile's last appearance.

(3) In order to allow reviews and appearances by juveniles,
for whom the board is the releasing entity, the board may assign the members or
individuals to meet in panels of not less than three members or individuals, to
receive progress reports and recommendations, review cases, meet with
juveniles, meet with counselors, and to hear matters and consider cases for
release, parole, and parole revocation. Membership on these panels must be
periodically rotated on a random basis. At the meetings of the panels, a
unanimous vote must be considered the final decision. A panel vote that is not
unanimous must not be considered as a final decision, and the matter must be
referred to the full parole board, which shall determine the matter by a
majority vote of its membership.

(4) The board may conduct parole hearings by means of a
two-way, closed circuit television system.

(5) The board shall develop written guidelines for the
consideration of parole release of juveniles committed to the department for
offenses for which the parole board is the releasing entity.

The board shall provide these guidelines to juveniles, for
whom the board is the releasing entity, upon commitment and periodically
reviewed with each juvenile to assess the progress made toward achieving
release on parole.

(B) In the cases of juveniles for whom the department is the
releasing entity, the department shall establish policies and procedures
governing the review and release procedures for these juveniles.

(C) In the determination of the type of discharges or
conditional releases granted, the releasing entity shall consider the interests
of the person involved and the interests of society and shall employ the
services of and consult with the personnel of the Department of Juvenile
Justice. The releasing entity may from time to time modify the conditions of
discharges or conditional releases previously granted.

The parole board shall permit legal representation of a
juvenile who appears before it for the purpose of parole or parole revocation.
The department shall allocate funds to contract with a public defender
corporation or similar type legal program for legal assistance for the purpose
of appearing before the parole board for a juvenile who desires this service but
who cannot either personally or through the juvenile's family afford the
assistance.

(A) The department shall conduct aftercare investigations to
determine suitable placement for juveniles considered for conditional release
from the correctional schools. The department also shall supervise the
aftercare program, making revocation investigations and submitting findings to
the releasing entity.

(B) The director and such staff as the director shall
designate in the performance of their duties of investigation, counseling and
supervision, and revocation investigations are considered official
representatives of the releasing entity.

(C) The directors and their staff are subject to the
regulations for parole and parole revocation promulgated by the releasing
entity and shall meet with the releasing entity at its meetings when requested.
Community-based counselors, or their supervisors, with assigned clients
committed to institutions of the department shall periodically visit the
institutions in order to counsel their clients and accomplish the duties as
outlined in this subarticle.

(D) Recognizing the need to maintain autonomy and to provide
a check and balance system, the parole board shall employ a director of parole
and other staff necessary to carry out the duties of parole examinations,
victim liaison, and revocation hearings. The director serves at the will and
pleasure of the parole board. All staff are employees of the parole board and
are directly responsible to the parole board both administratively and
operationally. Funds allocated for the functions designated in this section
must be incorporated as a line item within the department's budget and are
subject to administrative control by the parole board.

(E) The department shall continue to provide the budgetary,
fiscal, personnel, and training information resources and other support
considered necessary by the parole board to perform its mandated functions.

(A) A juvenile who shall have been conditionally released
from a correctional facility shall remain under the authority of the releasing
entity until the expiration of the specified term imposed in the juvenile's
conditional aftercare release. The specified period of conditional release may
expire before but not after the twenty-first birthday of the juvenile. Each
juvenile conditionally released is subject to the conditions and restrictions
of the release and may at any time on the order of the releasing entity be
returned to the custody of a correctional institution for violation of
aftercare rules or conditions of release.

(B) As a condition of release, the releasing entity may
enforce participation in restitution, work ordered by the court, and community
service programs established or approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(A) At any time during the period of conditional release, an
aftercare counselor or the counselor's supervisor or a probation or parole
agent may issue or cause to be issued a warrant for the juvenile to be taken
into custody for violating any of the conditions of the release. A police
officer or other officer with power to arrest, upon request of an aftercare
counselor or a probation or parole agent, may take the juvenile into custody.
The arresting officer shall obtain a warrant signed by the aftercare counselor
or a probation or parole agent setting forth that the juvenile, in the
counselor's judgment, violated the conditions of the release which is authority
for the detention of the juvenile in an appropriate place of detention. If an
aftercare release revocation is necessary, the aftercare counselor or a
probation or parole agent shall submit in writing a thorough report to the
releasing entity, showing in what manner the delinquent juvenile has violated
the conditional release. A juvenile returned to the custody of a correctional
school by aftercare revocation shall have a hearing or review of the juvenile's
case by the releasing entity. The releasing entity is the final authority to
determine whether or not the juvenile failed to abide by the aftercare rules
and conditions of release.

(B) An aftercare counselor or probation or parole agent who
has successfully completed Class I or II law enforcement officer training and
received a certificate from the Department of Public Safety pursuant to the
provisions of Article 9, Chapter 6 of Title 23 has the power, when commissioned
by the department, to take a juvenile conditionally released from the custody
of the department and subject to the jurisdiction of the releasing entity into
custody upon the issuance of a warrant for violating the conditions of his
release.

The order of revocation of a conditional release may be
issued and made effective after the period of aftercare supervision prescribed
in the release has expired when the violations of the conditions or release
occurred during the aftercare supervision period.

(A) To be eligible for appointment as a probation counselor,
an applicant must possess:

(1) a college degree involving special training in the field
of social science or its equivalent;

(2) a personality and character as would render the
applicant suitable for the functions of the office.

(B) Probation counselors shall live in districts as
determined by the director. Each counselor periodically shall visit the schools
under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice and become familiar
with the records, background, and needs of the children and shall make periodic
reports to the school.

(C)(1) The duties of probation counselors include:

(a) conducting an investigation of the child and the child's
home as may be required by the court;

(b) being present in court at the hearing of cases;

(c) furnishing to the court information and assistance as
the judge may require; and

(d) taking charge of a child before and after hearings as
may be directed by the court.

(2) During the probationary period of a child and during the
time that the child may be committed to an institution or to the care of an
association or person for custodial or disciplinary purposes, the child is
always subject to visitation by the probation counselors or other agents of the
court.

(D) A probation counselor who has successfully completed
Class I or II law enforcement officer training and received a certificate from
the Department of Public Safety pursuant to the provisions of Article 9,
Chapter 6 of Title 23 has the authority, when commissioned by the department,
in the execution of his duties, to take a child under the jurisdiction of the
family court into custody pursuant to an order issued by the court directing
that the child be taken into custody.

(E) In the performance of the duties of probation, parole,
community supervision, and investigation, the probation counselor is regarded
as the official representative of the court, the department, and the Juvenile
Parole Board.

The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought
before it. The records of the court are confidential and open to inspection
only by court order to persons having a legitimate interest in the records and
to the extent necessary to respond to that legitimate interest. These records
must always be available to the legal counsel of the child and are open to
inspection without a court order where the records are necessary to defend
against an action initiated by a child.

(A) Except as provided herein, all information obtained and
records prepared in the discharge of official duty by an employee of the court
or department are confidential and must not be disclosed directly or indirectly
to anyone, other than the judge, the child's attorney, or others entitled under
this chapter or any other provision of law to receive this information, unless
otherwise ordered by the court. The court may order the records be disclosed to
a person having a legitimate interest and to the extent necessary to respond to
that legitimate interest. However, these records are open to inspection without
a court order where the records are necessary to defend against an action initiated
by a child.

(B) The director of the department must develop policies
providing for the transmission of necessary and appropriate information to
ensure the provision and coordination of services or assistance to a child
under the custody or supervision of the department. This information must
include that which is required for the admission or enrollment of a child into
a program of services, treatment, training, or education. The information may
be provided to another department or agency of state or local government, a
school district, or a private institution or facility licensed by the State as
a child-serving organization. This information may be summarized in accordance
with agency policy.

(C) The director is authorized to enter into interagency agreements
for purposes of sharing information about children under the supervision or in
the custody of the department. The agencies entering into these agreements must
maintain the confidentiality of the information.

(D) Reports and recommendations produced by the department
for the court for the purpose of a dispositional hearing must be disseminated
by the agency to the court, the solicitor, and the child's attorney.

(E)(1) The department must notify the principal of a school
in which a child is enrolled, intends to be enrolled, or was last enrolled upon
final disposition of a case in which the child is charged with any of the
following offenses:

(a) a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;

(b) a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370,
was used;

(c) assault and battery against school personnel, as defined
in Section 16-3-612;

(d) assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
committed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person
affiliated with the school in an official capacity; or

(e) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as
defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.

(2) Each school district is responsible for developing a
policy for schools within the district to follow to ensure that the
confidential nature of a child offense history and other information received
is maintained. This policy must provide for, but is not limited to:

(a) the retention of the child offense history and other
information relating to the child offense history in the child's school
disciplinary file or in some other confidential location;

(b) the destruction of the child offense history upon the
child's completion of secondary school or upon reaching twenty-one years of
age; and

(c) limiting access to the child's school disciplinary file
to school personnel. This access must only occur when necessary and appropriate
to meet and adequately address the educational needs of the child.

(F) When requested, the department must provide the victim
of a crime with the name of the child and the following information retained by
the department concerning the child charged with the crime:

(1) other basic descriptive information, including but not
limited to, a photograph;

(2) information about the juvenile justice system;

(3) the status and disposition of the delinquency action
including hearing dates, times, and locations;

(4) services available to victims of child crime; and

(5) recommendations produced by the department for the court
for the purpose of a dispositional hearing.

(G) The department or the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division, or both, must provide to the Attorney General, a solicitor, or a law
enforcement agency, upon request, a copy of a child offense history for
criminal justice purposes. This information must not be disseminated except as
authorized in Section 63-19-2030. The department and the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division must maintain the child offense history of a person for
the same period as for offenses committed by an adult.

(H) Other information retained by the department may be
provided to the Attorney General, a solicitor, or a law enforcement agency
pursuant to an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution.

(I) The department may fingerprint and photograph a child upon
the filing of a petition, release from detention, release on house arrest, or
commitment to a juvenile correctional institution. Fingerprints and photographs
taken by the department remain confidential and must not be transmitted to the
State Law Enforcement Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or another
agency or person, except for the purpose of:

(1) aiding the department in apprehending an escapee from
the department;

(2) assisting the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child;

(3) locating and identifying a child who fails to appear in
court as summoned;

(4) locating a child who is the subject of a house arrest
order; or (5) as otherwise provided in this section.

(J) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive any
statutory or common law privileges attached to the department's internal
reports or to information contained in the file of a child under the
supervision or custody of the department.

(A) Except as provided herein, law enforcement records and
information identifying children pursuant to this chapter are confidential and
may not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than those
entitled under this chapter to receive the information.

(B) Law enforcement records of children must be kept
separate from records of adults. Information identifying a child must not be
open to public inspection, but the remainder of these records are public
records.

(C) Law enforcement agencies must maintain admission and
release records on children held in secure custody, nonsecure custody, or both.
The records must include the times and dates of admission and release from
secure and nonsecure custody and, if appropriate, the times and dates of
transfer from one custody status to another.

(D) Law enforcement information or records of children
created pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be shared among law
enforcement agencies, solicitors' offices, the Attorney General, the
department, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Corrections, and
the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services for criminal justice
purposes without a court order.

(E) Incident reports in which a child is the subject are to
be provided to the victim of a crime pursuant to Section 16-3-1520. Incident
reports, including information identifying a child, must be provided by law
enforcement to the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled when
the child has been charged with any of the following offenses:

(1) a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;

(2) an offense that would carry a maximum term of
imprisonment of fifteen years or more if committed by an adult;

(3) a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section
59-63-370, was used;

(4) assault and battery against school personnel, as defined
in Section 16-3-612;

(5) assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
committed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person
affiliated with the school in an official capacity; or

(6) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as
defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.

Incident reports involving other offenses must be provided
upon request of the principal. This information must be maintained by the
principal in the manner set forth in Section 63-19-2020(E) and must be
forwarded with the child's permanent school records if the child transfers to
another school or school district.

(F) A child charged with any offense may be photographed by
the law enforcement agency that takes the child into custody. If the child is
taken into secure custody and detained, the detention facility must photograph
the child upon admission. These photographs may only be disseminated for
criminal justice purposes or to assist the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child.

(G) A child charged with an offense that would carry a
maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult
must be fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency that takes the child into
custody. If the child is taken into secure custody and detained, the detention
facility must fingerprint the child upon admission. In addition, a law
enforcement agency may petition the court for an order to fingerprint a child
when:

(1) the child is charged with any other offense; or

(2) the law enforcement agency has probable cause to suspect
the child of committing any offense.

(H) The fingerprint records of a child must be kept separate
from the fingerprint records of adults. The fingerprint records of a child must
be transmitted to the files of the State Law Enforcement Division.

(I) The fingerprint records of a child may be transmitted by
the State Law Enforcement Division to the files of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation only when the child has been adjudicated delinquent for having
committed an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five
years or more if committed by an adult.

(J) The fingerprint records of a child adjudicated
delinquent for an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of
five years or more if committed by an adult must be provided by the State Law
Enforcement Division or the law enforcement agency who took the child into
custody to a law enforcement agency upon request by that agency for criminal
justice purposes or to assist the Missing Person Information Center in the
location or identification of a missing or runaway child.

(K) The fingerprints and any record created by the South
Carolina Law Enforcement Division as a result of the receipt of fingerprints of
a child pursuant to this section must not be disclosed for any purpose not
specifically authorized by law or court order.

(L) Upon notification that a child has not been adjudicated
delinquent for an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of
five years or more if committed by an adult, the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division and the law enforcement agency who took the child into custody must
destroy the fingerprints and all records created as a result of such
information.

(A) A person who has been taken into custody for, charged
with, or adjudicated delinquent for having committed a status or a nonviolent
offense may petition the court for an order destroying all official records
relating to:

(1) being taken into custody;

(2) the charges filed against the child;

(3) the adjudication; and

(4) disposition.

The granting of the order is in the court's discretion.
However, a person may not petition the court if he has a prior adjudication for
an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or
more if committed by an adult. In addition, the court must not grant the order
unless it finds that the person who is seeking to have the records destroyed is
at least eighteen years of age, has successfully completed any dispositional
sentence imposed, and has not been subsequently charged with any criminal
offense.

(B) An adjudication for a violent crime, as defined in
Section 16-1-60, must not be expunged.

(C) If the expungement order is granted by the court, no
evidence of the records may be retained by any law enforcement agency or by any
municipal, county, state agency, or department. The effect of the order is to
restore the person in the contemplation of the law to the status the person
occupied before being taken into custody. No person to whom the order has been
entered may be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of
perjury or otherwise giving false statement by reason of failing to recite or
acknowledge the charge or adjudication in response to an inquiry made of the
person for any purpose.

(D) For purposes of this section, an adjudication is
considered a previous adjudication only if it occurred prior to the date the
subsequent offense was committed.

The State of South Carolina hereby contracts to enter into
the "Interstate Compact for Juveniles" according to the terms and in
the form substantially as follows:

Subarticle I

Purpose

The compacting states to this Interstate Compact recognize
that each state is responsible for the proper supervision or return of
juveniles, delinquents, and status offenders who are on probation or parole and
who have absconded, escaped, or run away from supervision and control and in so
doing have endangered their own safety and the safety of others. The compacting
states also recognize that each state is responsible for the safe return of
juveniles who have run away from home and in doing so have left their state of
residence. The compacting states also recognize that Congress, by enacting the
Crime Control Act, 4 U.S.C. Section 112 (1965), has authorized and encouraged
compacts for cooperative efforts and mutual assistance in the prevention of
crime.

It is the purpose of this compact, through means of joint
and cooperative action among the compacting states to:

(A) ensure that the adjudicated juveniles and status
offenders subject to this compact are provided adequate supervision and
services in the receiving state as ordered by the adjudicating judge or parole
authority in the sending state;

(B) ensure that the public safety interests of the citizens,
including the victims of juvenile offenders, in both the sending and receiving
states are adequately protected;

(C) return juveniles who have run away, absconded, or
escaped from supervision or control or have been accused of an offense to the
state requesting their return;

(D) make contracts for the cooperative institutionalization
in public facilities in member states for delinquent youth needing special
services;

(E) provide for the effective tracking and supervision of
juveniles;

(F) equitably allocate the costs, benefits, and obligations
of the compacting states;

(G) establish procedures to manage the movement between
states of juvenile offenders released to the community under the jurisdiction
of courts, juvenile departments, or any other criminal or juvenile justice
agency which has jurisdiction over juvenile offenders;

(H) insure immediate notice to jurisdictions where defined
offenders are authorized to travel or to relocate across state lines;

(I) establish procedures to resolve pending charges
(detainers) against juvenile offenders prior to transfer or release to the
community under the terms of this compact;

(J) establish a system of uniform data collection on
information pertaining to juveniles subject to this compact that allows access
by authorized juvenile justice and criminal justice officials, and regular
reporting of compact activities to heads of state executive, judicial, and
legislative branches and juvenile and criminal justice administrators;

(L) coordinate training and education regarding the
regulation of interstate movement of juveniles for officials involved in such
activity; and

(M) coordinate the implementation and operation of the compact
with the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, the Interstate
Compact for Adult Offender Supervision, and other compacts affecting juveniles
particularly in those cases where concurrent or overlapping supervision issues
arise. It is the policy of the compacting states that the activities conducted
by the Interstate Commission created herein are the formation of public
policies and therefore are public business. Furthermore, the compacting states
shall cooperate and observe their individual and collective duties and
responsibilities for the prompt return and acceptance of juveniles subject to
the provisions of this compact.

The provisions of this compact shall be reasonably and
liberally construed to accomplish the purposes and policies of the compact.

Subarticle II

Definitions

As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires
a different construction:

A. "By-laws" means those by-laws established by
the Interstate Commission for its governance, or for directing or controlling its
actions or conduct.

B. "Compact administrator" means the individual in
each compacting state appointed pursuant to the terms of this compact,
responsible for the administration and management of the state's supervision
and transfer of juveniles subject to the terms of this compact, the rules
adopted by the Interstate Commission.

C. "Compacting state" means any state which has
enacted the enabling legislation for this compact.

D. "Commissioner" means the voting representative
of each compacting state appointed pursuant to Subarticle III of this compact.

E. "Court" means any court having jurisdiction
over delinquent, neglected, or dependent children.

F. "Deputy compact administrator" means the
individual, if any, in each compacting state appointed to act on behalf of a
compact administrator pursuant to the terms of this compact responsible for the
administration and management of the state's supervision and transfer of
juveniles subject to the terms of this compact, the rules adopted by the
Interstate Commission, and policies adopted by the state council under this
compact.

G. "Interstate Commission" means the Interstate
Commission for Juveniles created by Subarticle III of this compact.

H. "Juvenile" means any person defined as a
juvenile in any member state or by the rules of the Interstate Commission,
including:

(1) accused delinquent--a person charged with an offense
that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal offense;

(2) adjudicated delinquent--a person found to have committed
an offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal offense;

(3) accused status offender--a person charged with an
offense that would not be a criminal offense if committed by an adult;

(4) adjudicated status offender--a person found to have
committed an offense that would not be a criminal offense if committed by an
adult; and

(5) nonoffender--a person in need of supervision who has not
been accused or adjudicated a status offender or delinquent.

I. "Noncompacting state" means any state which has
not enacted the enabling legislation for this compact.

J. "Probation or parole" means any kind of
supervision or conditional release of juveniles authorized under the laws of
the compacting states.

K. "Rule" means a written statement by the
Interstate Commission promulgated pursuant to Subarticle VI of this compact
that is of general applicability, implements, interprets, or prescribes a
policy or provision of the compact, or an organizational, procedural, or
practice requirement of the commission, and has the force and effect of
statutory law in a compacting state, and includes the amendment, repeal, or
suspension of an existing rule.

L. "State" means a state of the United States, the
District of Columbia (or its designee), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas Islands.

Subarticle III

Interstate Commission for Juveniles

A. The compacting states hereby create the "Interstate
Commission for Juveniles". The commission shall be a body corporate and
joint agency of the compacting states. The commission shall have all the
responsibilities, powers, and duties set forth herein, and such additional
powers as may be conferred upon it by subsequent action of the respective
legislatures of the compacting states in accordance with the terms of this
compact.

B. The Interstate Commission shall consist of commissioners
appointed by the appropriate appointing authority in each state pursuant to the
rules and requirements of each compacting state and in consultation with the
State Council for Interstate Juvenile Supervision created hereunder. The
commissioner shall be the compact administrator, deputy compact administrator,
or designee from that state who shall serve on the Interstate Commission in
such capacity under or pursuant to the applicable law of the compacting state.

C. In addition to the commissioners who are the voting
representatives of each state, the Interstate Commission shall include
individuals who are not commissioners, but who are members of interested
organizations. Such noncommissioner members must include a member of the
national organizations of governors, legislators, state chief justices,
attorneys general, Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision,
Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, juvenile justice and juvenile
corrections officials, and crime victims. All noncommissioner members of the
Interstate Commission shall be ex-officio (nonvoting) members. The Interstate
Commission may provide in its by-laws for such additional ex-officio
(nonvoting) members, including members of other national organizations, in such
numbers as shall be determined by the commission.

D. Each compacting state represented at any meeting of the
commission is entitled to one vote. A majority of the compacting states shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless a larger quorum is
required by the by-laws of the Interstate Commission.

E. The commission shall meet at least once each calendar
year. The chairperson may call additional meetings and, upon the request of a
simple majority of the compacting states, shall call additional meetings.
Public notice shall be given of all meetings and meetings shall be open to the
public.

F. The Interstate Commission shall establish an executive
committee, which shall include commission officers, members, and others as
determined by the by-laws. The executive committee shall have the power to act
on behalf of the Interstate Commission during periods when the Interstate
Commission is not in session, with the exception of rulemaking and/or amendment
to the compact. The executive committee shall oversee the day-to- day
activities of the administration of the compact managed by an executive
director and Interstate Commission staff; administers enforcement and
compliance with the provisions of the compact, its by-laws and rules, and
performs such other duties as directed by the Interstate Commission or set
forth in the by-laws.

G. Each member of the Interstate Commission shall have the
right and power to cast a vote to which that compacting state is entitled and
to participate in the business and affairs of the Interstate Commission. A
member shall vote in person and shall not delegate a vote to another compacting
state. However, a commissioner, in consultation with the state council, shall
appoint another authorized representative, in the absence of the commissioner
from that state, to cast a vote on behalf of the compacting state at a
specified meeting. The by-laws may provide for members' participation in
meetings by telephone or other means of telecommunication or electronic
communication.

H. The Interstate Commission's by-laws shall establish
conditions and procedures under which the Interstate Commission shall make its
information and official records available to the public for inspection or
copying. The Interstate Commission may exempt from disclosure any information
or official records to the extent they would adversely affect personal privacy
rights or proprietary interests.

I. Public notice shall be given of all meetings and all
meetings shall be open to the public, except as set forth in the rules or as
otherwise provided in the compact. The Interstate Commission and any of its
committees may close a meeting to the public where it determines by two-thirds
vote that an open meeting would be likely to:

7. disclose information contained in or related to
examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, or on behalf of or
for the use of, the Interstate Commission with respect to a regulated person or
entity for the purpose of regulation or supervision of such person or entity;

8. disclose information, the premature disclosure of which
would significantly endanger the stability of a regulated person or entity; or

9. specifically relate to the Interstate Commission's
issuance of a subpoena, or its participation in a civil action or other legal
proceeding.

J. For every meeting closed pursuant to this provision, the
Interstate Commission's legal counsel shall publicly certify that, in the legal
counsel's opinion, the meeting may be closed to the public, and shall reference
each relevant exemptive provision. The Interstate Commission shall keep minutes
which shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in any meeting and
shall provide a full and accurate summary of any actions taken, and the reasons
therefor, including a description of each of the views expressed on any item
and the record of any roll call vote (reflected in the vote of each member on
the question). All documents considered in connection with any action shall be
identified in such minutes.

K. The Interstate Commission shall collect standardized data
concerning the interstate movement of juveniles as directed through its rules
which shall specify the data to be collected, the means of collection, and data
exchange and reporting requirements. Such methods of data collection, exchange
and reporting shall insofar as is reasonably possible conform to up-to-date
technology and coordinate its information functions with the appropriate
repository of records.

Subarticle IV

Powers and Duties of the Interstate Commission

The commission shall have the following powers and duties
to:

1. provide for dispute resolution among compacting states;

2. promulgate rules to effect the purposes and obligations
as enumerated in this compact, which shall have the force and effect of
statutory law and shall be binding in the compacting states to the extent and
in the manner provided in this compact;

3. oversee, supervise, and coordinate the interstate
movement of juveniles subject to the terms of this compact and any by-laws
adopted and rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission;

4. enforce compliance with the compact provisions, the rules
promulgated by the Interstate Commission, and the by-laws, using all necessary
and proper means, including, but not limited to, the use of judicial process;

5. establish and maintain offices which shall be located
within one or more of the compacting states;

6. purchase and maintain insurance and bonds;

7. borrow, accept, hire, or contract for services of
personnel;

8. establish and appoint committees and hire staff which it
deems necessary for the carrying out of its functions including, but not
limited to, an executive committee as required by Subarticle III which shall
have the power to act on behalf of the Interstate Commission in carrying out
its powers and duties hereunder;

9. elect or appoint such officers, attorneys, employees,
agents, or consultants, and to fix their compensation, define their duties, and
determine their qualifications; and to establish the Interstate Commission's
personnel policies and programs relating to, inter alia, conflicts of interest,
rates of compensation, and qualifications of personnel;

10. accept any and all donations and grants of money,
equipment, supplies, materials, and services, and to receive, utilize, and
dispose of it;

11. lease, purchase, accept contributions or donations of,
or otherwise to own, hold, improve, or use any property, real, personal, or
mixed;

13. establish a budget and make expenditures and levy dues
as provided in Subarticle VIII of this compact;

14. sue and be sued;

15. adopt a seal and by-laws governing the management and
operation of the Interstate Commission;

16. perform such functions as may be necessary or
appropriate to achieve the purposes of this compact;

17. report annually to the legislatures, governors,
judiciary, and state councils of the compacting states concerning the
activities of the Interstate Commission during the preceding year. Such reports
shall also include any recommendations that may have been adopted by the
Interstate Commission;

18. coordinate education, training, and public awareness
regarding the interstate movement of juveniles for officials involved in such
activity;

19. establish uniform standards of the reporting,
collecting, and exchanging of data; and

20. maintain its corporate books and records in accordance
with the by-laws.

Subarticle V

Organization and Operation of the Interstate Commission

A. By-laws

1. The Interstate Commission shall, by a majority of the
members present and voting, within twelve months after the first Interstate
Commission meeting, adopt by-laws to govern its conduct as may be necessary or
appropriate to carry out the purposes of the compact including, but not limited
to:

a. establishing the fiscal year of the Interstate
Commission;

b. establishing an executive committee and such other
committees as may be necessary;

c. providing for the establishment of committees governing
any general or specific delegation of any authority or function of the Interstate
Commission;

d. providing reasonable procedures for calling and
conducting meetings of the Interstate Commission, and ensuring reasonable
notice of each such meeting;

e. establishing the titles and responsibilities of the
officers of the Interstate Commission;

f. providing a mechanism for concluding the operations of
the Interstate Commission and the return of any surplus funds that may exist
upon the termination of the compact after the payment and/or reserving of all
of its debts and obligations;

g. providing "start-up" rules for initial
administration of the compact; and

h. establishing standards and procedures for compliance and
technical assistance in carrying out the compact.

B. Officers and Staff

1. The Interstate Commission shall, by a majority of the
members, elect annually from among its members a chairperson and a vice
chairperson, each of whom shall have such authority and duties as may be
specified in the by-laws. The chairperson or, in the chairperson's absence or
disability, the vice chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the
Interstate Commission. The officers so elected shall serve without compensation
or remuneration from the Interstate Commission; provided that, subject to the
availability of budgeted funds, the officers shall be reimbursed for any
ordinary and necessary costs and expenses incurred by them in the performance
of their duties and responsibilities as officers of the Interstate Commission.

2. The Interstate Commission shall, through its executive
committee, appoint or retain an executive director for such period, upon such
terms and conditions and for such compensation as the Interstate Commission may
deem appropriate. The executive director shall serve as secretary to the
Interstate Commission, but shall not be a member and shall hire and supervise
such other staff as may be authorized by the Interstate Commission.

C. Qualified Immunity, Defense, and Indemnification

1. The commission's executive director and employees shall
be immune from suit and liability, either personally or in their official
capacity, for any claim for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or
other civil liability caused or arising out of or relating to any actual or
alleged act, error, or omission that occurred, or that such person had a
reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of commission
employment, duties, or responsibilities; provided, that any such person shall
not be protected from suit or liability for any damage, loss, injury, or
liability caused by the intentional or wilful and wanton misconduct of any such
person.

2. The liability of any commissioner, or the employee or
agent of a commissioner, acting within the scope of such person's employment or
duties for acts, errors, or omissions occurring within such person's state may
not exceed the limits of liability set forth under the Constitution and laws of
that state for state officials, employees, and agents. Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to protect any such person from suit or liability
for any damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or wilful
and wanton misconduct of any such person.

3. The Interstate Commission shall defend the executive
director or the employees or representatives of the Interstate Commission and,
subject to the approval of the Attorney General of the state represented by any
commissioner of a compacting state, shall defend such commissioner or the
commissioner's representatives or employees in any civil action seeking to
impose liability arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission
that occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or
responsibilities, or that the defendant had a reasonable basis for believing
occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or
responsibilities, provided that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission
did not result from intentional or wilful and wanton misconduct on the part of
such person.

4. The Interstate Commission shall indemnify and hold the commissioner
of a compacting state, or the commissioner's representatives or employees, or
the Interstate Commission's representatives or employees, harmless in the
amount of any settlement or judgment obtained against such persons arising out
of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope
of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that such
persons had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of
Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, provided that
the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from intentional
or willful and wanton misconduct on the part of such persons.

Subarticle VI

Rulemaking Functions of the Interstate Commission

A. The Interstate Commission shall promulgate and publish
rules in order to effectively and efficiently achieve the purposes of the
compact.

B. Rulemaking shall occur pursuant to the criteria set forth
in this subarticle and the by-laws and rules adopted pursuant thereto. Such
rulemaking shall substantially conform to the principles of the "Model
State Administrative Procedures Act", 1981 Act, Uniform Laws Annotated,
Vol. 15, p. 1 (2000), or such other administrative procedures act, as the
Interstate Commission deems appropriate consistent with due process
requirements under the United States Constitution as now or hereafter
interpreted by the United States Supreme Court. All rules and amendments shall
become binding as of the date specified, as published with the final version of
the rule as approved by the commission.

C. When promulgating a rule, the Interstate Commission
shall, at a minimum:

2. allow and invite any and all persons to submit written
data, facts, opinions, and arguments, which information shall be added to the
record, and be made publicly available;

3. provide an opportunity for an informal hearing if
petitioned by ten or more persons; and

4. promulgate a final rule and its effective date, if
appropriate, based on input from state or local officials, or interested
parties.

D. Allow, not later than sixty days after a rule is
promulgated, any interested person to file a petition in the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia or in the Federal District Court
where the Interstate Commission's principal office is located for judicial
review of such rule. If the court finds that the Interstate Commission's action
is not supported by substantial evidence in the rulemaking record, the court
shall hold the rule unlawful and set it aside. For purposes of this subsection,
evidence is substantial if it would be considered substantial evidence under
the Model State Administrative Procedures Act.

E. If a majority of the legislatures of the compacting
states rejects a rule, those states may, by enactment of a statute or
resolution in the same manner used to adopt the compact, cause that such rule
shall have no further force and effect in any compacting state.

F. The existing rules governing the operation of the
Interstate Compact on Juveniles superceded by this act shall be null and void
twelve months after the first meeting of the Interstate Commission created
hereunder.

G. Upon determination by the Interstate Commission that a
state of emergency exists, it may promulgate an emergency rule which shall
become effective immediately upon adoption, provided that the usual rulemaking
procedures provided hereunder shall be retroactively applied to said rule as soon
as reasonably possible, but no later than ninety days after the effective date
of the emergency rule.

Subarticle VII

Oversight, Enforcement, and Dispute Resolution by the
Interstate Commission

A. Oversight

1. The Interstate Commission shall oversee the
administration and operations of the interstate movement of juveniles subject
to this compact in the compacting states and shall monitor such activities
being administered in noncompacting states which may significantly affect
compacting states.

2. The courts and executive agencies in each compacting
state shall enforce this compact and shall take all actions necessary and
appropriate to effectuate the compact's purposes and intent. The provisions of
this compact and the rules promulgated hereunder shall be received by all the
judges, public officers, commissions, and departments of the state government
as evidence of the authorized statute and administrative rules. All courts
shall take judicial notice of the compact and the rules. In any judicial or
administrative proceeding in a compacting state pertaining to the subject
matter of this compact which may affect the powers, responsibilities, or
actions of the Interstate Commission, it shall be entitled to receive all
service of process in any such proceeding, and shall have standing to intervene
in the proceeding for all purposes.

B. Dispute Resolution

1. The compacting states shall report to the Interstate
Commission on all issues and activities necessary for the administration of the
compact as well as issues and activities pertaining to compliance with the
provisions of the compact and its by-laws and rules.

2. The Interstate Commission shall attempt, upon the request
of a compacting state, to resolve any disputes or other issues which are
subject to the compact and which may arise among compacting states and between
compacting and noncompacting states. The commission shall promulgate a rule
providing for both mediation and binding dispute resolution for disputes among
the compacting states.

3. The Interstate Commission, in the reasonable exercise of
its discretion, shall enforce the provisions and rules of this compact using
any or all means set forth in Subarticle XI of this compact.

Subarticle VIII

Finance

A. The Interstate Commission shall pay or provide for the
payment of the reasonable expenses of its establishment, organization, and
ongoing activities.

B. The Interstate Commission shall levy on and collect an
annual assessment from each compacting state to cover the cost of the internal
operations and activities of the Interstate Commission and its staff which must
be in a total amount sufficient to cover the Interstate Commission's annual
budget as approved each year. The aggregate annual assessment amount shall be
allocated based upon a formula to be determined by the Interstate Commission,
taking into consideration the population of each compacting state and the
volume of interstate movement of juveniles in each compacting state and shall
promulgate a rule binding upon all compacting states which governs said
assessment.

C. The Interstate Commission shall not incur any obligations
of any kind prior to securing the funds adequate to meet the same; nor shall
the Interstate Commission pledge the credit of any of the compacting states,
except by and with the authority of the compacting state.

D. The Interstate Commission shall keep accurate accounts of
all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the
Interstate Commission shall be subject to the audit and accounting procedures
established under its by-laws. However, all receipts and disbursements of funds
handled by the Interstate Commission shall be audited yearly by a certified or
licensed public accountant and the report of the audit shall be included in and
become part of the annual report of the Interstate Commission.

Subarticle IX

The State Council

A. Each member state shall create a State Council for
Interstate Juvenile Supervision. While each state may determine the membership
of its own state council, its membership must include at least one
representative from the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of
government, victims groups, and the compact administrator, deputy compact
administrator, or designee. Each compacting state retains the right to determine
the qualifications of the compact administrator or deputy compact
administrator. Each state council will advise and may exercise oversight and
advocacy concerning that state's participation in Interstate Commission
activities and other duties as may be determined by that state, including, but
not limited to, development of policy concerning operations and procedures of
the compact within that state.

B. The director of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile
Justice, or his designee, must serve as Compact Administrator for the State of South Carolina. The director of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice shall
appoint the members of the state council. The state council shall act as an
advisory body to the director regarding the activities of the Interstate
Compact.

Subarticle X

Compacting States, Effective Date, and Amendment

A. Any state, the District of Columbia (or its designee),
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa,
and the Northern Marianas Islands as defined in Subarticle II of this compact
is eligible to become a compacting state.

B. The compact shall become effective and binding upon
legislative enactment of the compact into law by no less than thirty-five of
the states. The initial effective date shall be the later of July 1, 2004, or
upon enactment into law by the 35th jurisdiction. Thereafter, it shall become
effective and binding as to any other compacting state upon enactment of the
compact into law by that state. The governors of nonmember states or their
designees shall be invited to participate in the activities of the Interstate
Commission on a nonvoting basis prior to adoption of the compact by all states
and territories of the United States.

C. The Interstate Commission may propose amendments to the
compact for enactment by the compacting states. No amendment shall become
effective and binding upon the Interstate Commission and the compacting states
unless and until it is enacted into law by unanimous consent of the compacting
states.

Subarticle XI

Withdrawal, Default, Termination, and Judicial Enforcement

A. Withdrawal

1. Once effective, the compact shall continue in force and
remain binding upon each and every compacting state; provided that a compacting
state may withdraw from the compact by specifically repealing the statute which
enacted the compact into law.

2. The effective date of withdrawal is the effective date of
the repeal.

3. The withdrawing state shall immediately notify the
Chairperson of the Interstate Commission in writing upon the introduction of
legislation repealing this compact in the withdrawing state. The Interstate
Commission shall notify the other compacting states of the withdrawing state's
intent to withdraw within sixty days of its receipt thereof.

4. The withdrawing state is responsible for all assessments,
obligations, and liabilities incurred through the effective date of withdrawal,
including any obligations, the performance of which extend beyond the effective
date of withdrawal.

5. Reinstatement following withdrawal of any compacting
state shall occur upon the withdrawing state reenacting the compact or upon
such later date as determined by the Interstate Commission.

B. Technical Assistance, Fines, Suspension, Termination, and
Default

1. If the Interstate Commission determines that any
compacting state has at any time defaulted in the performance of any of its
obligations or responsibilities under this compact, or the by-laws or duly
promulgated rules, the Interstate Commission may impose any or all of the
following penalties:

a. remedial training and technical assistance as directed by
the Interstate Commission;

b. alternative dispute resolution;

c. fines, fees, and costs in such amounts as are deemed to
be reasonable as fixed by the Interstate Commission; and

d. suspension or termination of membership in the compact,
which shall be only imposed after all other reasonable means of securing
compliance under the by-laws and rules have been exhausted and the Interstate
Commission has therefore determined that the offending state is in default.
Immediate notice of suspension shall be given by the Interstate Commission to
the Governor, the Chief Justice, or the Chief Judicial Officer of the state,
the majority and minority leaders of the defaulting state's legislature, and
the state council. The grounds for default include, but are not limited to,
failure of a compacting state to perform such obligations or responsibilities
imposed upon it by this compact, the by-laws, or duly promulgated rules and any
other grounds designated in commission by-laws and rules. The Interstate
Commission shall immediately notify the defaulting state in writing of the
penalty imposed by the Interstate Commission and of the default pending a cure
of the default. The commission shall stipulate the conditions and the time
period within which the defaulting state must cure its default. If the
defaulting state fails to cure the default within the time period specified by
the commission, the defaulting state shall be terminated from the compact upon
an affirmative vote of a majority of the compacting states and all rights,
privileges, and benefits conferred by this compact shall be terminated from the
effective date of termination.

2. Within sixty days of the effective date of termination of
a defaulting state, the commission shall notify the Governor, the Chief
Justice, or Chief Judicial Officer, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the
defaulting state's legislature, and the state council of such termination.

3. The defaulting state is responsible for all assessments,
obligations, and liabilities incurred through the effective date of termination
including any obligations, the performance of which extends beyond the
effective date of termination.

4. The Interstate Commission shall not bear any costs
relating to the defaulting state unless otherwise mutually agreed upon in
writing between the Interstate Commission and the defaulting state.

5. Reinstatement following termination of any compacting
state requires both a reenactment of the compact by the defaulting state and
the approval of the Interstate Commission pursuant to the rules.

C. Judicial Enforcement

The Interstate Commission may, by majority vote of the
members, initiate legal action in the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia or, at the discretion of the Interstate Commission, in the
federal district where the Interstate Commission has its offices, to enforce
compliance with the provisions of the compact, its duly promulgated rules and
by-laws, against any compacting state in default. In the event judicial
enforcement is necessary, the prevailing party shall be awarded all costs of
such litigation including reasonable attorney's fees.

D. Dissolution of Compact

1. The compact dissolves effective upon the date of the
withdrawal or default of the compacting state, which reduces membership in the
compact to one compacting state.

2. Upon the dissolution of this compact, the compact becomes
null and void and shall be of no further force or effect, and the business and
affairs of the Interstate Commission shall be concluded and any surplus funds
shall be distributed in accordance with the by-laws.

Subarticle XII

Severability and Construction

A. The provisions of this compact shall be severable, and if
any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision is deemed unenforceable, the
remaining provisions of the compact shall be enforceable.

B. The provisions of this compact shall be liberally
construed to effectuate its purposes.

Subarticle XIII

Binding Effect of Compact and Other Laws

A. Other Laws

1. Nothing herein prevents the enforcement of any other law
of a compacting state that is not inconsistent with this compact.

2. All compacting states' laws other than state
constitutions and other interstate compacts conflicting with this compact are
superseded to the extent of the conflict.

B. Binding Effect of the Compact

1. All lawful actions of the Interstate Commission,
including all rules and by-laws promulgated by the Interstate Commission, are
binding upon the compacting states.

2. All agreements between the Interstate Commission and the
compacting states are binding in accordance with their terms.

3. Upon the request of a party to a conflict over meaning or
interpretation of Interstate Commission actions, and upon a majority vote of
the compacting states, the Interstate Commission may issue advisory opinions
regarding such meaning or interpretation.

4. In the event any provision of this compact exceeds the
constitutional limits imposed on the legislature of any compacting state, the
obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction sought to be conferred by such
provision upon the Interstate Commission shall be ineffective and such
obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction shall remain in the compacting
state and shall be exercised by the agency thereof to which such obligations,
duties, powers, or jurisdiction are delegated by law in effect at the time this
compact becomes effective.

It is unlawful for a person under eighteen years of age to
loiter in a billiard or pocket billiard room or to play billiards or pocket
billiards in a billiard room unless accompanied by the person's parent or
guardian or with the written consent of the person's parent or guardian. A
person violating this section or Chapter 11 of Title 52 or any billiard room
proprietor or manager who permits such a violation must be fined not less than
ten nor more than one hundred dollars or be imprisoned not less than two days
nor more than thirty days. In the event the keeper of a billiard room is of the
opinion that a person desiring admission is under the age of eighteen years the
keeper shall require the person to certify the person's age in writing. It is a
misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than
one hundred dollars, for a minor to make a false certificate of age or use a
forged permit from the minor's parent or guardian.

(A) It is unlawful for a person under the age of twenty-one
to purchase, attempt to purchase, consume, or knowingly possess beer, ale,
porter, wine, or other similar malt or fermented beverage. Possession is prima
facie evidence that it was knowingly possessed. Notwithstanding another
provision of law, if the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe
that a person is under age twenty-one and has consumed alcohol, the law
enforcement officer or the person may request that the person submit to any
available alcohol screening test using a device approved by the State Law
Enforcement Division. A person who violates the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than one
hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or must be imprisoned for not
more than thirty days, or both.

(B) A person who violates the provisions of this section
also is required to successfully complete a DAODAS approved alcohol prevention
education or intervention program. The program must be a minimum of eight hours
and the cost to the person may not exceed one hundred fifty dollars.

(C) A person eighteen years of age and over lawfully
employed to serve or remove beer, wine, or alcoholic beverages in
establishments licensed to sell these beverages is not considered to be in
unlawful possession of the beverages during the course and scope of his duties
as an employee. The provisions of this subsection do not affect the requirement
that a bartender must be at least twenty-one years of age.

(D) This section does not apply to an employee lawfully
engaged in the sale or delivery of these beverages in an unopened container.

(E) The provisions of this section do not apply to a student
who:

(1) is eighteen years of age or older;

(2) is enrolled in an accredited college or university and a
student in a culinary course that has been approved through review by the State
Commission on Higher Education;

(3) is required to taste, but not consume or imbibe, any
beer, ale, porter, wine, or other similar malt or fermented beverage as part of
the required curriculum; and

(4) tastes a beverage pursuant to item (3) only for
instructional purposes during classes that are part of the curriculum of the
accredited college or university.

The beverage must remain at all times in the possession and
control of an authorized instructor of the college or university who must be
twenty-one years of age or older. Nothing in this subsection may be construed
to allow a student under the age of twenty-one to receive any beer, ale,
porter, wine, or other similar malt or fermented beverage unless the beverage
is delivered as part of the student's required curriculum and the beverage is
used only for instructional purposes during classes conducted pursuant to the
curriculum.

(F) The provisions of this section do not apply to a person
under the age of twenty-one who is recruited and authorized by a law
enforcement agency to test an establishment's compliance with laws relating to
the unlawful transfer or sale of beer or wine to a minor. The testing must be
under the direct supervision of a law enforcement agency, and the agency must
have the person's parental consent.

(A) It is unlawful for a person under the age of twenty-one
to purchase, attempt to purchase, consume, or knowingly possess alcoholic
liquors. Possession is prima facie evidence that it was knowingly possessed. It
is also unlawful for a person to falsely represent his age for the purpose of
procuring alcoholic liquors. Notwithstanding another provision of law, if the
law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a person is under
age twenty-one and has consumed alcohol, the law enforcement officer or the
person may request that the person submit to any available alcohol screening
test using a device approved by the State Law Enforcement Division.

(B) A person who violates the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than one
hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or must be imprisoned for not
more than thirty days, or both.

(C) A person who violates the provisions of this section
also is required to successfully complete a DAODAS approved alcohol prevention
education or intervention program. The program must be a minimum of eight hours
and the cost to the person may not exceed one hundred fifty dollars.

(D) The provisions of this section do not apply to a student
who:

(1) is eighteen years of age or older;

(2) is enrolled in an accredited college or university and a
student in a culinary course that has been approved through review by the State
Commission on Higher Education;

(3) is required to taste, but not consume or imbibe, any
alcoholic liquor as part of the required curriculum; and

(4) tastes the liquor pursuant to item (3) only for instructional
purposes during classes that are part of the curriculum of the accredited
college or university.

The alcoholic liquor must remain at all times in the
possession and control of an authorized instructor of the college or university
who must be twenty-one years of age or older. Nothing in this subsection may be
construed to allow a student under the age of twenty-one to receive alcoholic
liquor unless it is delivered as part of the student's required curriculum, and
it is used only for instructional purposes during classes conducted pursuant to
the curriculum.

(E) The provisions of this section do not apply to a person
under the age of twenty-one who is recruited and authorized by a law
enforcement agency to test an establishment's compliance with the laws relating
to the unlawful transfer or sale of alcoholic liquors to a minor. The testing
must be under the direct supervision of a law enforcement agency, and the
agency must have the person's parental consent.

No provision of law prohibiting the use or possession of
beer, wine, or alcoholic beverages by minors shall apply to any minor in the
home of his parents or guardian or to any such beverage used for religious
ceremonies or purposes so long as such beverage was legally purchased.

The intent of this article is to promote the state's
fundamental right to provide for the public health, welfare, and safety of its
citizens. Notwithstanding this legitimate state purpose, these provisions are
not intended to violate the guaranteed constitutional rights of those who have
violated our nation's laws.

The sex offender registry will provide law enforcement with
the tools needed in investigating criminal offenses. Statistics show that sex
offenders often pose a high risk of re-offending. Additionally, law
enforcement's efforts to protect communities, conduct investigations, and
apprehend offenders who commit sex offenses are impaired by the lack of
information about these convicted offenders who live within the law enforcement
agency's jurisdiction.

(A) The registry is under the direction of the Chief of the
State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and shall contain information the chief
considers necessary to assist law enforcement in the location of persons
convicted of certain offenses. SLED shall develop and operate the registry to:
collect, analyze, and maintain information; make information available to every
enforcement agency in this State and in other states; and establish a security
system to ensure that only authorized persons may gain access to information
gathered under this article.

(B) SLED shall include and cross-reference alias names in
the registry.

(A) Any person, regardless of age, residing in the State of
South Carolina who in this State has been convicted of, adjudicated delinquent
for, pled guilty or nolo contendere to an offense described below, or who has
been convicted, adjudicated delinquent, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or
found not guilty by reason of insanity in any comparable court in the United
States, or a foreign country, or who has been convicted, adjudicated
delinquent, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of
insanity in the United States federal courts of a similar offense, or who has
been convicted of, adjudicated delinquent for, pled guilty or nolo contendere,
or found not guilty by reason of insanity to an offense for which the person
was required to register in the state where the conviction or plea occurred,
shall be required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article. A
person who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity shall not be
required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article unless and
until the person is declared to no longer be insane or is ordered to register
by the trial judge. A person who has been convicted, adjudicated delinquent,
pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity in
any court in a foreign country may raise as a defense to a prosecution for
failure to register that the offense in the foreign country was not equivalent
to any offense in this State for which he would be required to register and may
raise as a defense that the conviction, adjudication, plea, or finding in the
foreign country was based on a proceeding or trial in which the person was not
afforded the due process of law as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United
States and this State.

(B) For purposes of this article, a person who remains in
this State for a total of thirty days during a twelve-month period is a
resident of this State.

(C) For purposes of this article, a person who has been
convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or been adjudicated delinquent
for any of the following offenses shall be referred to as an offender:

(5) criminal sexual conduct with minors, second degree. If
evidence is presented at the criminal proceeding and the court makes a specific
finding on the record that the conviction obtained for this offense resulted
from consensual sexual conduct, as contained in Section 16-3-655(3) provided the
offender is eighteen years of age or less, or consensual sexual conduct between
persons under sixteen years of age, the convicted person is not an offender and
is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article;

(13) violations of Article 3, Chapter 15 of Title 16
involving a minor;

(14) a person, regardless of age, who has been convicted,
adjudicated delinquent, pled guilty or nolo contendere in this State, or who
has been convicted, adjudicated delinquent, pled guilty or nolo contendere in a
comparable court in the United States, or who has been convicted, adjudicated
delinquent, pled guilty or nolo contendere in the United States federal courts
of indecent exposure or of a similar offense in other jurisdictions is required
to register pursuant to the provisions of this article if the court makes a
specific finding on the record that based on the circumstances of the case the
convicted person should register as a sex offender;

(15) kidnapping (Section 16-3-910) of a person eighteen
years of age or older except when the court makes a finding on the record that
the offense did not include a criminal sexual offense or an attempted criminal
sexual offense;

(16) kidnapping (Section 16-3-910) of a person under
eighteen years of age except when the offense is committed by a parent;

(17) criminal sexual conduct when the victim is a spouse
(Section 16-3-658);

(18) sexual battery of a spouse (Section 16-3-615);

(19) sexual intercourse with a patient or trainee (Section
44-23-1150);

(20) criminal solicitation of a minor if the purpose or intent
of the solicitation or attempted solicitation was to:

(a) persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the person solicited
to engage or participate in sexual activity as defined in Section 16-15-375(5);

(b) perform a sexual activity in the presence of the person
solicited (Section 16-15-342); or

(21) administering, distributing, dispensing, delivering, or
aiding, abetting, attempting, or conspiring to administer, distribute,
dispense, or deliver a controlled substance or gamma hydroxy butyrate to an
individual with the intent to commit a crime listed in Section 44-53-370(f),
except petit larceny or grand larceny.

(D) Upon conviction, adjudication of delinquency, guilty
plea, or plea of nolo contendere of a person of an offense not listed in this
article, the presiding judge may order as a condition of sentencing that the
person be included in the sex offender registry if good cause is shown by the
solicitor.

(E) SLED shall remove a person's name and any other
information concerning that person from the sex offender registry immediately
upon notification by the Attorney General that the person's adjudication,
conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere for an offense listed in
subsection (C) was reversed, overturned, or vacated on appeal and a final judgment
has been rendered.

(F) If an offender receives a pardon for the offense for
which he was required to register, the offender must reregister as provided by
Section 23-3-460 and may not be removed from the registry except:

(1) as provided by the provisions of subsection (E); or

(2) if the pardon is based on a finding of not guilty
specifically stated in the pardon.

(G) If an offender files a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus or a motion for a new trial pursuant to Rule 29(b), South Carolina Rules
of Criminal Procedure, based on newly discovered evidence, the offender must
reregister as provided by Section 23-3-460 and may not be removed from the
registry except:

(1) as provided by the provisions of subsection (E); or

(2)(a) if the circuit court grants the offender's petition
or motion and orders a new trial; and

(b) a verdict of acquittal is returned at the new trial or
entered with the state's consent.

(1) Before an offender's release from the Department of
Corrections after completion of the term of imprisonment, from the Department
of Juvenile Justice after completion of the term of confinement, or being
placed on parole, SLED, based upon information provided by the Department of
Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Juvenile Parole Board, or
the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, shall notify the
sheriff of the county where the offender intends to reside that the offender is
being released and has provided an address within the jurisdiction of the
sheriff for that county. The Department of Corrections, the Department of
Juvenile Justice, the Juvenile Parole Board, and the Department of Probation,
Parole and Pardon Services shall provide verbal and written notification to the
offender that he must register with the sheriff of the county in which he
intends to reside within one business day of his release. Further, the
Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Juvenile
Parole Board shall obtain descriptive information of the offender, including a
current photograph prior to release. The offender's photograph must be provided
to SLED before he is released.

(2) Based upon information provided by the Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, SLED shall notify the sheriff of the
county where an offender is residing when the offender is sentenced to
probation or is a new resident of the State who must be supervised by the
department. The Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services also shall
provide verbal and written notification to the offender that he must register
with the sheriff of the county in which he intends to reside. An offender who
is sentenced to probation must register within one business day of sentencing.
Further, the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services shall obtain
descriptive information of the offender, including a current photograph that is
to be updated annually prior to expiration of the probation sentence.

(3) Based upon information provided by the Department of
Juvenile Justice, or the Juvenile Parole Board SLED shall notify the sheriff of
the county where an offender is residing when the offender is released from a
Department of Juvenile Justice facility or the Juvenile Parole Board, or when
the Department of Juvenile Justice or the Juvenile Parole Board is required to
supervise the actions of the juvenile. The Department of Juvenile Justice or
the Juvenile Parole Board must provide verbal and written notification to the
juvenile and his parent, legal guardian, or custodian that the juvenile must
register with the sheriff of the county in which the juvenile resides. The
juvenile must register within one business day of his release. The parents or
legal guardian of a person under seventeen years of age who is required to
register under this chapter must ensure that the person has registered.

(4) The Department of Corrections, the Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and the Department of Juvenile Justice
shall provide to SLED the initial registry information regarding the offender
prior to his release from imprisonment or relief of supervision. This
information shall be collected in the event the offender fails to register with
his county sheriff.

SECTION 23-3-450. Offender
registration with sheriff; sheriff's notification of local law enforcement
agencies.

The offender shall register with the sheriff of each county
in which he resides, owns real property, or attends any public or private
school, including, but not limited to, a secondary school, adult education
school, college or university, and any vocational, technical, or occupational
school. To register, the offender must provide information as prescribed by
SLED. The sheriff in the county in which the offender resides, owns real
property, or attends any public or private school shall forward all required
registration information to SLED within five business days. A copy of this
information must be kept by the sheriff's department. The county sheriff shall
ensure that all information required by SLED is secured and shall establish
specific times of the day during which an offender may register. An offender
shall not be considered to have registered until all information prescribed by
SLED has been provided to the sheriff. The sheriff in the county in which the
offender resides, owns real property, or attends any public or private school
shall notify all local law enforcement agencies, including college or
university law enforcement agencies, within five business days of an offender
who resides, owns real property, or attends any public or private school within
the local law enforcement agency's jurisdiction.

SECTION 23-3-460. Bi-annual
registration for life; notification of change of address; notification of local
law enforcement agencies.

(A) A person required to register pursuant to this article
is required to register bi-annually for life. For purposes of this article,
"bi-annually" means each year during the month of his birthday and
again during the sixth month following his birth month. The person required to
register shall register and must re-register at the sheriff's department in
each county where he resides, owns real property, or attends any public or
private school, including, but not limited to, a secondary school, adult
education school, college or university, and any vocational, technical, or
occupational school. A person determined by a court to be a sexually violent
predator pursuant to state law is required to verify registration and be
photographed every ninety days by the sheriff's department in the county in
which he resides unless the person is committed to the custody of the State,
and verification will be held in abeyance until his release.

(B) If a person required to register pursuant to this
article changes his address within the same county, that person must send
written notice of the change of address to the sheriff within ten days of
establishing the new residence. If a person required to register under this
article owns or acquires real property within a county in this State, or
attends any public or private school, including, but not limited to, a
secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and any vocational,
technical, or occupational school, he must register with the sheriff in each
county where the real property or the public or private school is located
within ten days of acquiring the real property or attending the public or
private school.

(C) If a person required to register pursuant to this
article changes his address into another county in South Carolina, the person
must register with the county sheriff in the new county within ten days of
establishing the new residence. The person must also provide written notice
within ten days of the change of address in the previous county to the sheriff
with whom the person last registered.

(D) A person required to register pursuant to this article
and who is employed by, attends, is enrolled at, or carries on a vocation at
any public or private school, including, but not limited to, a kindergarten,
elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school, secondary school,
adult education school, college or university, and any vocational, technical, or
occupational school, must provide written notice within ten days of each change
in attendance, enrollment, employment, or vocation status at any public or
private school in this State. For purposes of this subsection, " employed
and carries on a vocation" means employment that is full-time or part-time
for a period of time exceeding fourteen days or for an aggregate period of time
exceeding thirty days during a calendar year, whether financially compensated,
volunteered, or for the purpose of government or educational benefit; and
"student" means a person who is enrolled on a full-time or part-time
basis, in a public or private school, including, but not limited to, a
kindergarten, elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school, secondary
school, adult education school, college or university, and a vocational,
technical, or occupational school.

(E) If a person required to register pursuant to this
article moves outside of South Carolina, the person must provide written notice
within ten days of the change of address to a new state to the county sheriff
with whom the person last registered.

(F) A person required to register pursuant to this article
who moves to South Carolina from another state, establishes residence, acquires
real property, attends or is enrolled at, or is employed by or carries on a
vocation at a public or private school, including, but not limited to, a
kindergarten, elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school,
secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and a
vocational, technical, or occupational school in South Carolina, and is not
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, the Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the
Juvenile Parole Board at the time of moving to South Carolina must register
within ten days of establishing residence, acquiring real property, attending
or enrolling at, or being employed by or carrying on a vocation at a public or
private school in this State.

(G) The sheriff of the county in which the person resides
must forward all changes to any information provided by a person required to
register pursuant to this article to SLED within five business days.

(H) A sheriff who receives registration information,
notification of change of address, or notification of change in attendance,
enrollment, employment, or vocation status at a public or private school,
including, but not limited to, a kindergarten, elementary school, middle school
or junior high, high school, secondary school, adult education school, college
or university, and a vocational, technical, or occupational school, must notify
all local law enforcement agencies, including college or university law
enforcement agencies, within five business days of an offender whose address,
real property, or public or private school is within the local law enforcement
agency's jurisdiction.

(I) The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, shall
inform, in writing, any new resident who applies for a driver's license,
chauffeur's license, vehicle tag, or state identification card of the
obligation of sex offenders to register. The department also shall inform, in
writing, a person renewing a driver's license, chauffeur's license, vehicle
tag, or state identification card of the requirement for sex offenders to
register.

(A) It is the duty of the offender to contact the sheriff in
order to register, provide notification of change of address, or notification
of change in attendance, enrollment, employment, or vocation status at any
public or private school, including, but not limited to, a kindergarten,
elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school, secondary school,
adult education school, college or university, and any vocational, technical,
or occupational school. If an offender fails to register, provide notification
of change of address, or notification of change in attendance, enrollment,
employment, or vocation status at any public or private school, as required by
this article, he must be punished as provided in subsection (B).

(B)(1) A person convicted for a first offense is guilty of a
misdemeanor and may be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned
for not more than thirty days, or both.

(2) A person convicted for a second offense is guilty of a
misdemeanor and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of one year, no part
of which shall be suspended nor probation granted.

(3) A person convicted for a third or subsequent offense is
guilty of a felony and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of five years,
three years of which shall not be suspended nor probation granted.

(A) Anyone who knowingly and wilfully gives false
information when registering as an offender pursuant to this article must be
punished as provided in subsection (B).

(B)(1) A person convicted for a first offense is guilty of a
misdemeanor and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of ninety days, no
part of which shall be suspended nor probation granted.

(2) A person convicted for a second offense is guilty of a
misdemeanor and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of one year, no part
of which shall be suspended nor probation granted.

(3) A person convicted for a third or subsequent offense is
guilty of a felony and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of five years,
three years of which shall not be suspended nor probation granted.

SECTION 23-3-480. Notice of
duty to register; what constitutes; registration following charge of failure to
register not a defense.

(A) An arrest on charges of failure to register, service of
an information or complaint for failure to register, or arraignment on charges
of failure to register constitutes actual notice of the duty to register. A
person charged with the crime of failure to register who asserts as a defense
the lack of notice of the duty to register shall register immediately following
actual notice through arrest, service, or arraignment. Failure to register
after notice as required by this article constitutes grounds for filing another
charge of failure to register. Registering following arrest, service, or
arraignment on charges does not relieve the offender from the criminal penalty
for failure to register before the filing of the original charge.

(B) Section 23-3-470 shall not apply to a person convicted
of an offense provided in Section 23-3-430 prior to July 1, 1994, and who was
released from custody prior to July 1, 1994, unless the person has been served
notice of the duty to register by the sheriff of the county in which the person
resides. This person shall register within ten days of the notification of the
duty to register.

(A) Information collected for the offender registry is open
to public inspection, upon request to the county sheriff. A sheriff must
release information regarding persons required to register under this article
to a member of the public if the request is made in writing, on a form
prescribed by SLED. The sheriff must provide the person making the request with
the full names of the registered sex offenders, any aliases, any other
identifying physical characteristics, each offender's date of birth, the home
address on file, the offense for which the offender was required to register
pursuant to Section 23-3-430, and the date, city, and state of conviction. A
photocopy of a current photograph must also be provided. The sheriff must
provide to a newspaper with general circulation within the county a listing of
the registry for publication.

A sheriff who provides the offender registry for publication
or a newspaper which publishes the registry, or any portion of it, is not
liable and must not be named as a party in an action to recover damages or seek
relief for errors or omissions in the publication of the offender registry;
however, if the error or omission was done intentionally , with malice, or in
bad faith the sheriff or newspaper is not immune from liability.

(B) A person may request on a form prescribed by SLED a list
of registered sex offenders residing in a city, county, or zip code zone or a
list of all registered sex offenders within the State from SLED. A person may
request information regarding a specific person who is required to register
under this article from SLED if the person requesting the information provides
the name or address of the person about whom the information is sought. SLED
shall provide the person making the request with the full names of the
requested registered sex offenders, any aliases, any other identifying physical
characteristics, each offender's date of birth, the home address on file, the
offense for which the offender was required to register pursuant to Section
23-3-430, and the date, city, and state of conviction. The State Law
Enforcement Division may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying
and distributing sex offender registry lists as provided for in this section.
These funds must be used for the sole purpose of offsetting the cost of
providing sex offender registry lists.

(C) Nothing in subsection (A) prohibits a sheriff from
disseminating information contained in subsection (A) regarding persons who are
required to register under this article if the sheriff or another law
enforcement officer has reason to believe the release of this information will
deter criminal activity or enhance public safety. The sheriff shall notify the
principals of public and private schools, and the administrator of child day
care centers and family day care centers of any offender whose address is
within one-half mile of the school or business.

(D) For purposes of this article, information on a person
adjudicated delinquent in family court for an offense listed in Section
23-3-430 must be made available to the public in accordance with the following
provisions:

(1) If a person has been adjudicated delinquent for
committing any of the following offenses, information must be made available to
the public pursuant to subsections (A) and (B):

(f) producing, directing, or promoting sexual performance by
a child (Section 16-3-820); or

(g) kidnapping (Section 16-3-910).

(2) Information shall only be made available, upon request,
to victims of or witnesses to the offense, public or private schools, child day
care centers, family day care centers, businesses or organizations that
primarily serve children, women, or vulnerable adults, as defined in Section
43-35-10(11), for persons adjudicated delinquent for committing any of the
following offenses:

(h) violations of Article 3, Chapter 15 of Title 16
involving a minor, which violations are felonies; or

(i) indecent exposure.

(3) A person who is under twelve years of age at the time of
his adjudication, conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere for a
first offense of any offense listed in Section 23-3-430(C) shall be required to
register pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; however, the person's name
or any other information collected for the offender registry shall not be made
available to the public.

(4) A person who is under twelve years of age at the time of
his adjudication, conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere for any
offense listed in Section 23-3-430(C) and who has a prior adjudication,
conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere for any offense listed in
Section 23-3-430(C) shall be required to register pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter, and all registry information concerning that person shall be made
available to the public pursuant to items (1) and (2).

(5) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the dissemination
of all registry information to law enforcement.

(E) For purposes of this section, use of computerized or
electronic transmission of data or other electronic or similar means is
permitted.

SECTION 23-3-500. Psychiatric
or psychological treatment for children adjudicated for certain sex offenses.

A court must order that a child under twelve years of age
who is convicted of, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or is adjudicated for
an offense listed in Section 23-3-430(C) be given appropriate psychiatric or
psychological treatment to address the circumstances of the offense for which
the child was convicted, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or adjudicated.

A person who commits a criminal offense using information
from the sex offender registry disclosed to him pursuant to Section 23-3-490,
upon conviction, must be punished as follows:

(1) For a misdemeanor offense, the maximum fine prescribed
by law for the offense may be increased by not more than one thousand dollars,
and the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed by law for the offense may be
increased by not more than six months.

(2) For a felony offense, the maximum term of imprisonment
prescribed by law for the offense may be increased by not more than five years.

SECTION 23-3-520. Immunity of
public officials, employees, and agencies for acts or omissions under this
article; exceptions; duties regarding disclosure of information.

(A) An appointed or elected public official, public
employee, or public agency is immune from civil liability for damages for any
act or omission under this article unless the official's, employee's, or
agency's conduct constitutes gross negligence.

(B) Nothing in this chapter imposes an affirmative duty on a
person to disclose to a member of the public information from the sex offender
registry other than on those persons responsible for providing registry
information pursuant to their official duties as provided for in this chapter.

(C) Nothing in this section may be construed to mean that
information regarding persons on the sex offender registry is confidential
except as otherwise provided by law.

A real estate brokerage and its affiliated licensees is
immune from liability for any act or omission related to the disclosure of
information under this chapter if the brokerage or its affiliated licensees in
a timely manner provides to its clients and customers written notice that they
may obtain information about the sex offender registry and persons registered
with the registry by contacting the county sheriff. The notice may be included
as part of a listing agreement, buyer representation agreement, or sales
agreement.

The State Law Enforcement Division shall develop and
maintain a protocol manual to be used by contributing agencies in the
administration of the sex offender registry. The protocol manual must include,
but is not limited to, the following:

(1) procedures for the verification of addresses by the
sheriff's department in the county where the person resides; and

(2) specific requirements for registration and
re-registration including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) the name, social security number, age, race, sex, date
of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color, address of permanent residence,
address of current temporary residence, within the State or out of state,
including rural route address and post office box, which may not be provided
instead of a physical residential address, date and place of employment,
vehicle make, model, color, and license tag number, fingerprints, and
photograph;

(b) the name, address, and county of each institution of
higher learning, including the specific campus location, if the person is
enrolled, employed, or carries on a vocation there;

(c) the vehicle identification number, license tag number,
registration number, and a description, including the color scheme, if the
person lives in a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home;
and

(d) the hull identification number, the manufacturer's
serial number, the name of the vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat, the
registration number, and a description of the color scheme, if the person lives
in a vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat.

SECTION 23-3-535. Limitation
on places of residence of certain sex offenders; exceptions; violations; local
government ordinances; school districts required to provide certain
information.

(A) As contained in this section:

(1) "Children's recreational facility" means a
facility owned and operated by a city, county, or special purpose district used
for the purpose of recreational activity for children under the age of eighteen.

(2) "Daycare center" means an arrangement where,
at any one time, there are three or more preschool-age children, or nine or
more school-age children receiving child care.

(3) "School" does not include a home school or an
institution of higher education.

(4) "Within one thousand feet" means a measurement
made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects,
from the nearest portion of the property on which the sex offender resides to
the nearest property line of the premises of a school, daycare center,
children's recreational facility, park, or public playground, whichever is
closer.

(B) It is unlawful for a sex offender who has been convicted
of any of the following offenses to reside within one thousand feet of a school,
daycare center, children's recreational facility, park, or public playground:

(1) criminal sexual conduct with a minor, first degree;

(2) criminal sexual conduct with a minor, second degree;

(3) assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct with
a minor; or

(4) kidnapping a person under eighteen years of age.

(C) This section does not apply to a sex offender who:

(1) resided within one thousand feet of a school, daycare
center, children's recreational facility, park, or public playground before the
effective date of this act;

(2) resided within one thousand feet of a school, daycare
center, children's recreational facility, park, or public playground on
property the sex offender owned before the sex offender was charged with any of
the offenses enumerated in subsection (B);

(3) resides within one thousand feet of a school, daycare
center, children's recreational facility, park, or public playground as a
result of the establishment of a new school, daycare center, children's
recreational facility, park, or public playground;

(4) resides in a jail, prison, detention facility, group
home for persons under the age of twenty-one licensed by the Department of
Social Services, residential treatment facility for persons under the age of
twenty-one licensed by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, or
other holding facility, including a mental health facility;

(5) resides in a homeless shelter for no more than one year,
a group home for persons under the age of twenty-one licensed by the Department
of Social Services, or a residential treatment facility for persons under the
age of twenty-one licensed by the Department of Health and Environmental
Control, and the site was purchased by the organization prior to the effective
date of this act;

(6) resides in a community residential care facility, as
defined in Section 44-7-130(6); or

(7) resides in a nursing home, as defined in Section
44-7-130(13).

(D) If upon registration of a sex offender, or at any other
time, a local law enforcement agency determines that a sex offender is in
violation of this section, the local law enforcement agency must, within thirty
days, notify the sex offender of the violation, provide the sex offender with a
list of areas in which the sex offender is not permitted to reside, and notify
the sex offender that the sex offender has thirty days to vacate the residence.
If the sex offender fails to vacate the residence within thirty days, the sex
offender must be punished as follows:

(1) for a first offense, the sex offender is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than thirty days,
or fined not more than five hundred dollars, or both;

(2) for a second offense, the sex offender is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than three years,
or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both;

(3) for a third or subsequent offense, the sex offender is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than
five years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.

(E) A local government may not enact an ordinance that
contains penalties that exceed or are less lenient than the penalties contained
in this section.

(F)(1) At the beginning of each school year, each school
district must provide:

(a) the names and addresses of every sex offender who
resides within one thousand feet of a school bus stop within the school
district to the parents or guardians of a student who boards or disembarks a
school bus at a stop covered by this subsection; or

(b) the hyperlink to the sex offender registry web site on
the school district's web site for the purpose of gathering this information.

(2) Local law enforcement agencies must check the school
districts' web sites to determine if each school district has complied with
this subsection. If a hyperlink does not appear on a school district web site,
the local law enforcement agency must contact the school district to confirm
that the school district has provided the parents or guardians with the names
and addresses of every sex offender who resides within one thousand feet of a
school bus stop within the school district. If the local law enforcement agency
determines that this information has not been provided, the local law enforcement
agency must inform the school district that it is in violation of this
subsection. If the school district does not comply within thirty days after
notice of its violation, the school district is subject to equitable injunctive
relief and, if the plaintiff prevails, the district shall pay the plaintiff's
attorney's fees and costs.

(A) Upon conviction, adjudication of delinquency, guilty
plea, or plea of nolo contendere of a person for committing criminal sexual
conduct with a minor in the first degree, pursuant to Section 16-3-655(A)(1),
or committing or attempting a lewd act upon a child under sixteen, pursuant to
Section 16-15-140, the court must order that the person, upon release from
incarceration, confinement, commitment, institutionalization, or when placed
under the supervision of the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services shall be monitored by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services with an active electronic monitoring device.

(B) Upon conviction, adjudication of delinquency, guilty
plea, or plea of nolo contendere of a person for any other offense listed in
subsection (G), the court may order that the person upon release from
incarceration, confinement, commitment, institutionalization, or when placed
under the supervision of the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services shall be monitored by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services with an active electronic monitoring device.

(C) A person who is required to register pursuant to this
article for committing criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first
degree, pursuant to Section 16-3-655(A)(1), or committing or attempting a lewd
act upon a child under sixteen, pursuant to Section 16-15-140, and who violates
a term of probation, parole, community supervision, or a community supervision
program must be ordered by the court or agency with jurisdiction to be
monitored by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services with an
active electronic monitoring device.

(D) A person who is required to register pursuant to this
article for any other offense listed in subsection (G), and who violates a term
of probation, parole, community supervision, or a community supervision
program, may be ordered by the court or agency with jurisdiction to be
monitored by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services with an
active electronic monitoring device.

(E) A person who is required to register pursuant to this
article for committing criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first
degree, pursuant to Section 16-3-655(A)(1), or committing or attempting a lewd
act upon a child under sixteen, pursuant to Section 16-15-140, and who violates
a provision of this article, must be ordered by the court to be monitored by
the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services with an active
electronic monitoring device.

(F) A person who is required to register pursuant to this
article for any other offense listed in subsection (G), and who violates a
provision of this article, may be ordered by the court to be monitored by the
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services with an active electronic monitoring
device.

(G) This section applies to a person who has been:

(1) convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or been
adjudicated delinquent for any of the following offenses:

(a) criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first degree
(Section 16-3-655(A));

(b) criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the second
degree (Section 16-3-655(B)). If evidence is presented at the criminal
proceeding and the court makes a specific finding on the record that the
conviction obtained for this offense resulted from illicit consensual sexual
conduct, as contained in Section 16-3-655(B)(2), provided the offender is
eighteen years of age or less, or consensual sexual conduct between persons
under sixteen years of age, then the convicted person is not required to be
electronically monitored pursuant to the provisions of this section;

(g) violations of Article 3, Chapter 15 of Title 16
involving a minor;

(h) kidnapping (Section 16-3-910) of a person under eighteen
years of age except when the offense is committed by a parent; or

(2) ordered as a condition of sentencing to be included in
the sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430(D) for an offense
involving a minor, except that the provisions of this item may not be construed
to apply to a person eighteen years of age or less who engages in illicit but
consensual sexual conduct with another person who is at least fourteen years of
age as provided in Section 16-3-655(B)(2).

(H) The person shall be monitored by the Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services with an active electronic monitoring
device for the duration of the time the person is required to remain on the sex
offender registry pursuant to the provisions of this article, unless the person
is committed to the custody of the State. Ten years from the date the person
begins to be electronically monitored, the person may petition the chief
administrative judge of the general sessions court for the county in which the
person was ordered to be electronically monitored for an order to be released
from the electronic monitoring requirements of this section. The person shall
serve a copy of the petition upon the solicitor of the circuit and the
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. The court must hold a
hearing before ordering the person to be released from the electronic
monitoring requirements of this section, unless the court denies the petition
because the person is not eligible for release or based on other procedural
grounds. The solicitor of the circuit, the Department of Probation, Parole and
Pardon Services, and any victims, as defined in Article 15, Chapter 3, Title
16, must be notified of any hearing pursuant to this subsection and must be
given an opportunity to testify or submit affidavits in response to the
petition. If the court finds that there is clear and convincing evidence that
the person has complied with the terms and conditions of the electronic
monitoring and that there is no longer a need to electronically monitor the
person, then the court may order the person to be released from the electronic
monitoring requirements of this section. If the court denies the petition or
refuses to grant the order, then the person may refile a new petition every
five years from the date the court denies the petition or refuses to grant the
order. A person may not petition the court if the person is required to
register pursuant to this article for committing criminal sexual conduct with a
minor in the first degree, pursuant to Section 16-3-655(A)(1), or committing or
attempting a lewd act upon a child under sixteen, pursuant to Section
16-15-140.

(I) The person shall follow instructions provided by the
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services to maintain the active
electronic monitoring device in working order. Incidental damage or defacement
of the active electronic monitoring device must be reported to the Department
of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services within two hours. A person who fails
to comply with the reporting requirement of this subsection is guilty of a
felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars
or imprisoned not more than five years.

(J) The person shall abide by other terms and conditions set
forth by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services with regard to
the active electronic monitoring device and electronic monitoring program.

(K) The person must be charged for the cost of the active
electronic monitoring device and the operation of the active electronic
monitoring device for the duration of the time the person is required to be
electronically monitored. The Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services may exempt a person from the payment of a part or all of the cost
during a part or all of the duration of the time the person is required to be
electronically monitored, if the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services determines that exceptional circumstances exist such that these
payments cause a severe hardship to the person. The payment of the cost must be
a condition of supervision of the person and a delinquency of two months or
more in making payments may operate as a violation of a term or condition of
the electronic monitoring. All fees generated by this subsection must be
retained by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, carried
forward, and applied to support the active electronic monitoring of sex
offenders.

(L) A person who intentionally removes, tampers with, defaces,
alters, damages, or destroys an active electronic monitoring device is guilty
of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand
dollars or imprisoned not more than five years. This subsection does not apply
to a person or agent authorized by the Department of Probation, Parole and
Pardon Services to perform maintenance and repairs to the active electronic
monitoring devices.

(M) A person who completes his term of incarceration and the
maximum term of probation, parole, or community supervision and who wilfully
violates a term or condition of electronic monitoring, as ordered by the court
or determined by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be sentenced in accordance with
the provisions of Section 23-3-545.

(N) The Department of Corrections shall notify the
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services of the projected release
date of an inmate serving a sentence, as described in this section, at least one
hundred eighty days in advance of the person's release from incarceration. For
a person sentenced to one hundred eighty days or less, the Department of
Corrections shall immediately notify the Department of Probation, Parole and
Pardon Services.

(O) When an inmate serving a sentence as described in this
section is released on electronic monitoring, a victim who has previously
requested notification and the sheriff's office in the county where the person
is to be released must be notified in accordance with the requirements of
Article 15, Chapter 3 of Title 16.

(P) As used in this section, "active electronic
monitoring device" means an all body worn device that is not removed from
the person's body utilized by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services in conjunction with a web-based computer system that actively monitors
and records a person's location at least once every minute twenty-four hours a
day and that timely records and reports the person's presence near or within a
prohibited area or the person's departure from a specified geographic location.
In addition, the device must be resistant or impervious to unintentional or
wilful damages. The South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy may offer training
to officers of the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services
regarding the utilization of active electronic monitoring devices. In areas of
the State where cellular coverage requires the use of an alternate device, the
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services may use an alternate
device.

(Q) Except for juveniles released from the Department of
Corrections, all juveniles adjudicated delinquent in family court, who are
required to be monitored pursuant to the provisions of this article by the
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, or who are ordered by a
court to be monitored must be supervised, while under the jurisdiction of the
family court or Board of Juvenile Parole, by the Department of Juvenile
Justice. The Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services shall report
to the Department of Juvenile Justice all violations of the terms or conditions
of electronic monitoring for all juveniles supervised by the department, for as
long as the family court or Juvenile Parole Board has jurisdiction over the juvenile.
If the Department of Juvenile Justice determines that a juvenile has violated a
term or condition of electronic monitoring, the department shall immediately
notify local law enforcement of the violation.

SECTION 23-3-545. Effect of
conviction of wilfully violating term or condition of active electronic
monitoring.

(A) If a person is convicted of wilfully violating a term or
condition of active electronic monitoring pursuant to Section 23-3-540(M), the
court may impose other terms and conditions considered appropriate and may
continue the person on active electronic monitoring, or the court may revoke
the active electronic monitoring and impose a sentence of up to ten years for
the violation. A person who is incarcerated for a revocation is eligible to
earn work credits, education credits, good conduct credits, and other credits
which would reduce the sentence for the violation to the same extent he would
have been eligible to earn credits on a sentence of incarceration for the
underlying conviction. A person who is incarcerated for a revocation pursuant
to the provisions of this subsection is not eligible for parole.

(B) If a person's electronic monitoring is revoked by the
court and the court imposes a period of incarceration for the revocation, the
person must be placed back on active electronic monitoring when the person is
released from incarceration.

(C) A person may be sentenced for successive revocations,
with each revocation subject to a ten-year sentence. The maximum aggregate
amount of time the person may be required to serve when sentenced for
successive revocations may not exceed the period of time the person is required
to remain on the sex offender registry.

(A) A person who has reason to believe that a person
required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article is not
complying or has not complied with the requirements of this article, with the
intent to assist or harbor the person required to register in eluding a law
enforcement agency, is guilty of the offense of assisting or harboring an
unregistered sex offender, if the person:

(1) withholds information from or does not notify the law
enforcement agency of the noncompliance of the provisions of this article by
the person required to register, and, if known, the location of this person;

(2) harbors, attempts to harbor, or assists another person
in harboring or attempting to harbor the person required to register;

(3) conceals, attempts to conceal, or assists another in
concealing or attempting to conceal the person required to register; or

(4) provides information known to be false to a law
enforcement agency regarding the person required to register.

(B) A person who knowingly and wilfully violates the
provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must
be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five
years.

There is established in the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division (SLED) the State Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Identification Record
Database (State DNA Database). The State Law Enforcement Division shall develop
DNA profiles on samples for law enforcement purposes and for humanitarian and
nonlaw enforcement purposes, as provided for in Section 23-3-640(B).

(A) Following a lawful custodial arrest, the service of a
courtesy summons, or a direct indictment for:

(1) a felony offense or an offense that is punishable by a
sentence of five years or more; or

(2) eavesdropping, peeping, or stalking, any of which are
committed in this State, a person, except for any juvenile, arrested or ordered
by a court must provide a saliva or tissue sample from which DNA may be
obtained for inclusion in the State DNA Database. Additionally, any person,
including any juvenile, ordered to do so by a court, and any juvenile convicted
or adjudicated delinquent for an offense contained in items (1) or (2), must
provide a saliva or tissue sample from which DNA may be obtained for inclusion
in the State DNA Database.

This sample must be taken at a jail, sheriff's office that
serves a courtesy summons, courthouse where a direct presentment indictment is
served, or detention facility at the time the person is booked and processed
into the jail or detention facility following the custodial arrest, or other
location when the taking of fingerprints is required prior to a conviction. The
sample must be submitted to SLED as directed by SLED. If appropriately trained
personnel are not available to take a sample from which DNA may be obtained,
the failure of the arrested person to provide a DNA sample shall not be the sole
basis for refusal to release the person from custody. An arrested person who is
released from custody before providing a DNA sample must provide a DNA sample
at a location specified by the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over
the offense on or before the first court appearance.

(B) Unless a sample has already been provided pursuant to
the provisions of subsection (A), before a person may be paroled or released
from confinement, the person must provide a suitable sample from which DNA may
be obtained for inclusion in the State DNA Database.

(C) An agency having custody of an offender who is required
to provide a DNA sample pursuant to subsection (B) must notify SLED at least
three days, excluding weekends and holidays, before the person is paroled or
released from confinement.

(D) Unless a sample has already been provided pursuant to
the provisions of subsection (A), before a person is released from confinement
or released from the agency's jurisdiction, a suitable sample from which DNA
may be obtained for inclusion in the State DNA Database must be provided as a
condition of probation or parole.

(E) A person required to provide a sample pursuant to this
section may be required to provide another sample if the original sample is
lost, damaged, contaminated, or unusable for examination prior to the creation
of a DNA record or DNA profile suitable for inclusion in the State DNA
Database.

Family members of a missing person may submit DNA samples to
the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). If the person is missing thirty days
after a missing person report has been submitted to the Missing Person Information Center, SLED must conduct DNA identification, typing, and testing on the
family members' samples. SLED may, within its discretion, conduct DNA
identification, typing, and testing on the family members' samples prior to
thirty days if SLED determines that such DNA identification, typing, and
testing is necessary. If SLED does not have the technology necessary for a
particular method of DNA identification, typing, or testing, SLED may submit
the DNA samples to a Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS) laboratory that has
the appropriate technology. The results of the identification, typing, and testing
must be entered into CODIS.

(A) Only an appropriately trained person may take a sample
from which DNA may be obtained.

(B) A person taking a sample pursuant to this article is
immune from liability if the sample was taken according to recognized
procedures. However, no person is relieved from liability for negligence in the
taking of a sample.

Upon notification by the Medical University of South
Carolina or other facility preserving the body of an unidentified person that
the body remains unidentified after thirty days, the State Law Enforcement
Division (SLED) must conduct DNA identification, typing, and testing of the
unidentified person's tissue and fluid samples provided to SLED pursuant to
Section 17-7-25. SLED may, within its discretion, conduct DNA identification,
typing, and testing of the unidentified person's tissue and fluid samples prior
to thirty days if SLED determines that such DNA identification, typing, and
testing is necessary. The results of the identification, typing, and testing
must be entered into the Combined DNA Indexing System.

SECTION 23-3-640.
Specifications, procedures, and equipment; use of DNA profiles; disposition of
samples.

(A) Samples must be taken and submitted to SLED pursuant to
specifications and procedures developed by SLED in regulation. SLED must
conduct DNA identification testing, typing, and analysis in accordance with
regulations promulgated by the State Law Enforcement Division on samples
received for the purpose of developing a DNA profile, and SLED must use
procedures, equipment, supplies, and computer software that are compatible with
those used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(2) to develop a population database when personal
identifying information is removed;

(3) to support identification research and protocol
development of forensic DNA analysis methods;

(4) to generate investigative leads in criminal
investigations;

(5) for quality control or quality assurance purposes, or
both;

(6) to assist in the recovery and identification of human
remains from mass disasters;

(7) for other humanitarian purposes including identification
of missing persons.

(C) The disposition of all samples obtained pursuant to this
article is at the discretion of SLED.

(D) SLED must securely store DNA samples. The samples are
confidential and must remain in the custody of SLED or a private laboratory
designated by SLED if the laboratory's standards for confidentiality and
security are at least as stringent as those of SLED.

(A) The DNA record and the results of a DNA profile of an
individual provided under this article are confidential and must be securely
stored, except that SLED must make available the results to federal, state, and
local law enforcement agencies and to approved crime laboratories which serve
these agencies and to the solicitor or the solicitor's designee upon a written
or electronic request and in furtherance of an official investigation of a
criminal offense. These records and results of an individual also must be made
available as required by a court order following a hearing directing SLED to
release the record or results. However, SLED must not make the DNA record or
the DNA profile available to any entity that is not a law enforcement agency
unless instructed to do so by order of a court with competent jurisdiction.

(B) To prevent duplications of DNA samples, SLED must
coordinate with any law enforcement agency obtaining a DNA sample to determine
whether a DNA sample from the person under lawful custodial arrest has been
previously obtained and is in the State DNA Database.

(C) A person who wilfully discloses in any manner
individually identifiable DNA information contained in the State DNA Database
to a person or agency not entitled to receive this information is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined ten thousand dollars or three
times the amount of any financial gain realized by the person, whichever is
greater, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(D) A person who, without authorization, wilfully obtains
individually identifiable DNA information from the State DNA Database is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined ten thousand dollars or
three times the amount of any financial gain realized by the person, whichever
is greater, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(A) A person whose DNA record or DNA profile has been
included in the State DNA Database must have his DNA record and his DNA profile
expunged if:

(1) the charges pending against the person who has been
arrested or ordered to submit a sample:

(a) have been nolle prossed;

(b) have been dismissed; or

(c) have been reduced below the requirement for inclusion in
the State DNA Database; or

(2) the person has been found not guilty, or the person's
conviction has been reversed, set aside, or vacated.

(B) The solicitor in the county in which the person was
charged must notify SLED when the person becomes eligible to have his DNA
record and DNA profile expunged. Upon receiving this notification, SLED must
begin the expungement procedure.

(C) SLED, at no cost to the person, must purge DNA and all
other identifiable record information and the DNA profile from the State DNA
Database if SLED receives either:

(1) a document certified:

(a) by a circuit court judge;

(b) by a prosecuting agency; or

(c) by a clerk of court;

that must be produced to the requestor at no charge within
fourteen days after the request is made and after one of the events in
subsection (A) has occurred, and no new trial has been ordered by a court of
competent jurisdiction; or

(2) a certified copy of the court order finding the person
not guilty, or reversing, setting aside, or vacating the conviction.

(D) The person's entry in the State DNA Database shall not
be removed if the person has another qualifying offense.

(E) The jail intake officer, sheriff's office employee,
courthouse employee, or detention facility intake officer shall provide written
notification to the person of his right to have his DNA record and DNA profile
expunged and the procedure for the expungement pursuant to this section at the
time that the person's saliva or tissue sample is taken. The written
notification must include that the person is eligible to have his DNA record
and his DNA profile expunged at no cost to the person when:

(1) the charges pending against the person are:

(a) nolle prossed;

(b) dismissed; or

(c) reduced below the requirement for inclusion in the State
DNA Database; or

(2) when the person has been found not guilty, or the
person's conviction has been reversed, set aside, or vacated.

(F) When SLED completes the expungement process, SLED must
notify the person whose DNA record and DNA profile have been expunged and
inform him, in writing, that the expungement process has been completed.

(A) The cost of collection supplies for processing a sample
pursuant to this article must be paid by the general fund of the State. A
person who is required to provide a sample pursuant to this article, upon
conviction, pleading guilty or nolo contendere, or forfeiting bond, must pay a
two hundred fifty dollar processing fee which may not be waived by the court.
However:

(1) if the person is incarcerated, the fee must be paid before
the person is paroled or released from confinement and may be garnished from
wages the person earns while incarcerated; and

(2) if the person is not sentenced to a term of confinement,
payment of the fee must be a condition of the person's sentence and may be paid
in installments if so ordered by the court.

(B) The processing fee assessed pursuant to this section
must be remitted to the general fund of the State and credited to the State Law
Enforcement Division to offset the expenses SLED incurs in carrying out the
provisions of this article.

SLED shall promulgate regulations for sample testing and
analysis and for sample collection, identification, handling, transporting, and
shipment which must be complied with by the agency having jurisdiction over the
offender.

Implementation of this article and the requirements under
this article are contingent upon annual appropriations of sufficient funding
and upon promulgation of regulations. However, the State Law Enforcement
Division shall begin collecting DNA samples for analysis for crimes outlined in
this article no later than July 30, 2000.

The General Assembly finds that a mentally abnormal and
extremely dangerous group of sexually violent predators exists who require
involuntary civil commitment in a secure facility for long-term control, care,
and treatment. The General Assembly further finds that the likelihood these
sexually violent predators will engage in repeated acts of sexual violence if
not treated for their mental conditions is significant. Because the existing
civil commitment process is inadequate to address the special needs of sexually
violent predators and the risks that they present to society, the General
Assembly has determined that a separate, involuntary civil commitment process
for the long-term control, care, and treatment of sexually violent predators is
necessary. The General Assembly also determines that, because of the nature of
the mental conditions from which sexually violent predators suffer and the
dangers they present, it is necessary to house involuntarily-committed sexually
violent predators in secure facilities separate from persons involuntarily
committed under traditional civil commitment statutes. The civil commitment of
sexually violent predators is not intended to stigmatize the mentally ill
community.

(b) suffers from a mental abnormality or personality
disorder that makes the person likely to engage in acts of sexual violence if
not confined in a secure facility for long-term control, care, and treatment.

(2) "Sexually violent offense" means:

(a) criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, as provided
in Section 16-3-652;

(b) criminal sexual conduct in the second degree, as
provided in Section 16-3-653;

(c) criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, as provided
in Section 16-3-654;

(d) criminal sexual conduct with minors in the first degree,
as provided in Section 16-3-655(1);

(e) criminal sexual conduct with minors in the second
degree, as provided in Section 16-3-655(2) and (3);

(f) engaging a child for a sexual performance, as provided
in Section 16-3-810;

(g) producing, directing, or promoting sexual performance by
a child, as provided in Section 16-3-820;

(4) "Sexually motivated" means that one of the
purposes for which the person committed the crime was for the purpose of the
person's sexual gratification.

(5) "Agency with jurisdiction" means that agency
which, upon lawful order or authority, releases a person serving a sentence or
term of confinement and includes the South Carolina Department of Corrections,
the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, the
Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, the Department of Juvenile
Justice, the Juvenile Parole Board, and the Department of Mental Health.

(b) been adjudicated delinquent as a result of the
commission of a sexually violent offense;

(c) been charged but determined to be incompetent to stand
trial for a sexually violent offense;

(d) been found not guilty by reason of insanity of a
sexually violent offense; or

(e) been found guilty but mentally ill of a sexually violent
offense.

(7) "Court" means the court of common pleas.

(8) "Total confinement" means incarceration in a
secure state or local correctional facility and does not mean any type of
community supervision.

(9) "Likely to engage in acts of sexual violence"
means the person's propensity to commit acts of sexual violence is of such a
degree as to pose a menace to the health and safety of others.

(10) "Person" means an individual who is a
potential or actual subject of proceedings under this act and includes a child
under seventeen years of age.

(11) "Victim" means an individual registered with
the agency of jurisdiction as a victim or as an intervenor.

(12) "Intervenor" means an individual, other than
a law enforcement officer performing his ordinary duties, who provides aid to
another individual who is not acting recklessly, in order to prevent the
commission of a crime or to lawfully apprehend an individual reasonably
suspected of having committed a crime.

(A) When a person has been convicted of a sexually violent
offense, the agency with jurisdiction must give written notice to the
multidisciplinary team established in Section 44-48-50, the victim, and the
Attorney General at least one hundred eighty days before:

(1) the person's anticipated release from total confinement,
except that in the case of a person who is returned to prison for no more than
one hundred eighty days as a result of a revocation of any type of community
supervision program, written notice must be given as soon as practicable
following the person's readmission to prison;

(2) the anticipated hearing on fitness to stand trial
following notice under Section 44-23-460 of a person who has been charged with
a sexually violent offense but who was found unfit to stand trial for the
reasons set forth in Section 44-23-410 following a hearing held pursuant to
Section 44-23-430;

(3) the anticipated hearing pursuant to Section 17-24-40(C)
of a person who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity of a sexually
violent offense; or

(4) release of a person who has been found guilty of a
sexually violent offense but mentally ill pursuant to Section 17-24-20.

(B) When a person has been convicted of a sexually violent
offense and the Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services or the Board of
Juvenile Parole intends to grant the person a parole or the South Carolina
Department of Corrections or the Board of Juvenile Parole intends to grant the
person a conditional release, the parole or the conditional release must be
granted to be effective ninety days after the date of the order of parole or
conditional release. The Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, the
Juvenile Parole Board, or the South Carolina Department of Corrections must
immediately send notice of the parole or conditional release of the person to
the multidisciplinary team, the victim, and the Attorney General. If the person
is determined to be a sexually violent predator pursuant to this chapter, the
person is subject to the provisions of this chapter even though the person has
been released on parole or conditional release.

(C) The agency with jurisdiction must inform the
multidisciplinary team, the victim, and the Attorney General of:

(2) documentation of institutional adjustment and any
treatment received.

(D) The agency with jurisdiction, its employees, officials,
individuals contracting, appointed, or volunteering to perform services under
this chapter, the multidisciplinary team, and the prosecutor's review committee
established in Section 44-48-60 are immune from civil or criminal liability for
any good-faith conduct under this act.

The Director of the Department of Corrections must appoint a
multidisciplinary team to review the records of each person referred to the
team pursuant to Section 44-48-40. These records may include, but are not
limited to, the person's criminal offense record, any relevant medical and
psychological records, treatment records, victim's impact statement, and any
disciplinary or other records formulated during confinement or supervision. The
team, within thirty days of receiving notice as provided for in Section
44-48-40, must assess whether or not the person satisfies the definition of a
sexually violent predator. If it is determined that the person satisfies the
definition of a sexually violent predator, the multidisciplinary team must
forward a report of the assessment to the prosecutor's review committee and
notify the victim. The assessment must be accompanied by all records relevant
to the assessment. Membership of the team must include:

(1) a representative from the Department of Corrections;

(2) a representative from the Department of Probation,
Parole and Pardon Services;

(3) a representative from the Department of Mental Health
who is a trained, qualified mental health clinician with expertise in treating
sexually violent offenders;

(4) a retired judge appointed by the Chief Justice who is
eligible for continued judicial service pursuant to Section 2-19-100; and

(5) an attorney with substantial experience in the practice
of criminal defense law to be appointed by the Chief Justice to serve a term of
one year.

The Director of the Department of Corrections or his
designee appointed pursuant to item (1) shall be the chairman of the team.

The Attorney General must appoint a prosecutor's review
committee to review the report and records of each person referred to the
committee by the multidisciplinary team. The prosecutor's review committee must
determine whether or not probable cause exists to believe the person is a
sexually violent predator. The prosecutor's review committee must make the
probable cause determination within thirty days of receiving the report and
records from the multidisciplinary team. The prosecutor's review committee must
include, but is not limited to, a member of the staff of the Attorney General,
an elected circuit solicitor, and a victim's representative. The Attorney
General or his designee shall be the chairman of the committee. In addition to
the records and reports considered pursuant to Section 44-48-50, the committee
must also consider information provided by the circuit solicitor who prosecuted
the person.

When the prosecutor's review committee has determined that
probable cause exists to support the allegation that the person is a sexually
violent predator, the Attorney General must file a petition with the court in
the jurisdiction where the person committed the offense and must notify the
victim that the committee found that probable cause exists. The Attorney
General must also notify the victim of the time, date, and location of the
probable cause hearing before the court. The petition, which must be filed
within thirty days of the probable cause determination by the prosecutor's
review committee, must request that the court make a probable cause
determination as to whether the person is a sexually violent predator. The
petition must allege that the person is a sexually violent predator and must
state sufficient facts that would support a probable cause allegation.

(A) Upon filing of a petition, the court must determine
whether probable cause exists to believe that the person named in the petition
is a sexually violent predator. If the court determines that probable cause
exists to believe that the person is a sexually violent predator, the person
must be taken into custody if he is not already confined in a secure facility.

(B) Immediately upon being taken into custody pursuant to
subsection (A), the person must be provided with notice of the opportunity to
appear in person at a hearing to contest probable cause as to whether the
detained person is a sexually violent predator. This hearing must be held
within seventy-two hours after a person is taken into custody pursuant to
subsection (A). At this hearing the court must:

(1) verify the detainee's identity;

(2) receive evidence and hear arguments from the person and
the Attorney General; and

(3) determine whether probable cause exists to believe that
the person is a sexually violent predator.

The State may rely upon the petition and supplement the
petition with additional documentary evidence or live testimony.

(C) At the probable cause hearing as provided in subsection
(B), the detained person has the following rights in addition to any rights
previously specified:

(1) to be represented by counsel;

(2) to present evidence on the person's behalf;

(3) to cross-examine witnesses who testify against the
person; and

(4) to view and copy all petitions and reports in the court
file.

(D) If the probable cause determination is made, the court
must direct that the person be transferred to an appropriate secure facility
including, but not limited to, a local or regional detention facility for an
evaluation as to whether the person is a sexually violent predator. The evaluation
must be conducted by a qualified expert approved by the court at the probable
cause hearing.

SECTION 44-48-90. Trial;
trier of fact; continuation of trial; assistance of counsel; access of
examiners to person; payment of expenses.

Within sixty days after the completion of a hearing held
pursuant to Section 44-48-80, the court must conduct a trial to determine
whether the person is a sexually violent predator. Within thirty days after the
determination of probable cause by the court pursuant to Section 44-48-80, the
person or the Attorney General may request, in writing, that the trial be
before a jury. If such a request is made, the court must schedule a trial
before a jury at the next available date in the court of common pleas in the
county where the offense was committed. If no request is made, the trial must
be before a judge in the county where the offense was committed. The trial may
be continued upon the request of either party and a showing of good cause, or
by the court on its own motion in the due administration of justice, and only
if the respondent will not be substantially prejudiced. The Attorney General
must notify the victim, in a timely manner, of the time, date, and location of
the trial. At all stages of the proceedings under this chapter, a person
subject to this chapter is entitled to the assistance of counsel, and if the
person is indigent, the court must appoint counsel to assist the person. If a
person is subjected to an examination under this chapter, the person may retain
a qualified expert of his own choosing to perform the examination. All
examiners are permitted to have reasonable access to the person for the purpose
of the examination, as well as access to all relevant medical, psychological,
criminal offense, and disciplinary records and reports. In the case of an
indigent person who would like an expert of his own choosing, the court must
determine whether the services are necessary. If the court determines that the
services are necessary and the expert's requested compensation for the services
is reasonable, the court must assist the person in obtaining the expert to
perform an examination or participate in the trial on the person's behalf. The
court must approve payment for the services upon the filing of a certified claim
for compensation supported by a written statement specifying the time expended,
services rendered, expenses incurred on behalf of the person, and compensation
received in the case or for the same services from any other source.

(A) The court or jury must determine whether, beyond a
reasonable doubt, the person is a sexually violent predator. If a jury
determines that the person is a sexually violent predator, the determination
must be by unanimous verdict. If the court or jury determines that the person
is a sexually violent predator, the person must be committed to the custody of
the Department of Mental Health for control, care, and treatment until such
time as the person's mental abnormality or personality disorder has so changed
that the person is safe to be at large and has been released pursuant to this
chapter. The control, care, and treatment must be provided at a facility
operated by the Department of Mental Health. At all times, a person committed
for control, care, and treatment by the Department of Mental Health pursuant to
this chapter must be kept in a secure facility, and the person must be
segregated at all times from other patients under the supervision of the
Department of Mental Health. The Department of Mental Health may enter into an
interagency agreement with the Department of Corrections for the control, care,
and treatment of these persons. A person who is in the confinement of the
Department of Corrections pursuant to an interagency agreement authorized by
this chapter must be kept in a secure facility and must, if practical and to
the degree possible, be housed and managed separately from offenders in the
custody of the Department of Corrections. If the court or jury is not satisfied
beyond a reasonable doubt that the person is a sexually violent predator, the
court must direct the person's release. Upon a mistrial, the court must direct
that the person be held at an appropriate secure facility including, but not
limited to, a local or regional detention facility until another trial is
conducted. A subsequent trial following a mistrial must be held within ninety
days of the previous trial, unless the subsequent trial is continued. The court
or jury's determination that a person is a sexually violent predator may be
appealed. The person must be committed to the custody of the Department of
Mental Health pending his appeal.

(B) If the person charged with a sexually violent offense
has been found incompetent to stand trial and is about to be released and the
person's commitment is sought pursuant to subsection (A), the court first shall
hear evidence and determine whether the person committed the act or acts with
which he is charged. The hearing on this issue must comply with all the
procedures specified in this section. In addition, the rules of evidence
applicable in criminal cases apply, and all constitutional rights available to
defendants at criminal trials, other than the right not to be tried while
incompetent, apply. After hearing evidence on this issue, the court must make
specific findings on whether the person committed the act or acts with which he
is charged; the extent to which the person's incompetence or developmental
disability affected the outcome of the hearing, including its effect on the
person's ability to consult with and assist counsel and to testify on the
person's own behalf; the extent to which the evidence could be reconstructed
without the assistance of the person; and the strength of the prosecution's
case. If, after the conclusion of the hearing on this issue, the court finds
beyond a reasonable doubt that the person committed the act or acts with which
he is charged, the court must enter a final order, appealable by the person, on
that issue, and may proceed to consider whether the person should be committed
pursuant to this chapter.

A person committed pursuant to this chapter must have an
examination of his mental condition performed once every year. The person may
retain or, if the person is indigent and so requests, the court may appoint a
qualified expert to examine the person, and the expert must have access to all
medical, psychological, criminal offense, and disciplinary records and reports
concerning the person. The annual report must be provided to the court which
committed the person pursuant to this chapter, the Attorney General, the
solicitor who prosecuted the person, and the multidisciplinary team. The court
must conduct an annual hearing to review the status of the committed person.
The committed person is not prohibited from petitioning the court for release
at this hearing. The Director of the Department of Mental Health must provide
the committed person with an annual written notice of the person's right to
petition the court for release over the director's objection; the notice must
contain a waiver of rights. The director must forward the notice and waiver
form to the court with the annual report. The committed person has a right to
have an attorney represent him at the hearing, but the committed person is not
entitled to be present at the hearing. If the court determines that probable
cause exists to believe that the person's mental abnormality or personality
disorder has so changed that the person is safe to be at large and, if
released, is not likely to commit acts of sexual violence, the court must
schedule a trial on the issue. At the trial, the committed person is entitled
to be present and is entitled to the benefit of all constitutional protections
that were afforded the person at the initial commitment proceeding. The
Attorney General must notify the victim of all proceedings. The Attorney
General must represent the State and has the right to have the committed person
evaluated by qualified experts chosen by the State. The trial must be before a
jury if requested by either the person, the Attorney General, or the solicitor.
The committed person also has the right to have qualified experts evaluate the
person on the person's behalf, and the court must appoint an expert if the
person is indigent and requests the appointment. The burden of proof at the
trial is upon the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the committed
person's mental abnormality or personality disorder remains such that the
person is not safe to be at large and, if released, is likely to engage in acts
of sexual violence.

If the Director of the Department of Mental Health
determines that the person's mental abnormality or personality disorder has so
changed that the person is safe to be at large and, if released, is not likely
to commit acts of sexual violence, the director must authorize the person to
petition the court for release. The petition must be served upon the court and
the Attorney General. The Attorney General must notify the victim of the
proceeding. The court, upon receipt of the petition for release, must order a
hearing within thirty days. The Attorney General must represent the State and
has the right to have the petitioner examined by experts chosen by the State.
The hearing must be before a jury if requested by either the petitioner or the
Attorney General. The burden of proof is upon the Attorney General to show
beyond a reasonable doubt that the petitioner's mental abnormality or personality
disorder remains such that the petitioner is not safe to be at large and, that
if released, is likely to commit acts of sexual violence.

Nothing in this chapter prohibits a person from filing a
petition for release pursuant to this chapter. However, if a person has
previously filed a petition for release without the approval of the Director of
the Department of Mental Health, and the court determined either upon review of
the petition or following a hearing that the petitioner's petition was
frivolous or that the petitioner's condition had not changed so that the
petitioner continued to be a threat and, if released, would commit acts of
sexual violence, the court must deny the subsequent petition unless the
petition contains facts upon which a court could find the condition of the
petitioner had so changed that a hearing was warranted. Upon receipt of a first
or subsequent petition from a committed person without the director's approval,
the court must, whenever possible, review the petition and determine if the
petition is based upon frivolous grounds and, if so, must deny the petition
without a hearing.

In order to protect the public, relevant information and
records which otherwise are confidential or privileged must be released to the
agency with jurisdiction and the Attorney General for the purpose of meeting
the notice requirements of Section 44-48-40 and determining whether a person is
or continues to be a sexually violent predator.

SECTION 44-48-150.
Evidentiary records; court order to open sealed records.

Psychological reports, drug and alcohol reports, treatment records,
reports of the diagnostic center, medical records, or victim impact statements
which have been submitted to the court or admitted into evidence under this
chapter must be part of the record, but must be sealed and opened only on order
of the court.

(2) "Child in need of emergency admission" means a
child who is in need of treatment, who poses an imminent danger of seriously
harming himself or others if not immediately hospitalized, and for whom
immediate hospitalization can be obtained only through an involuntary emergency
admission.

(3) "Child in need of judicial admission" means a
child who is in need of treatment and for whom treatment can be obtained only
through an involuntary judicial admission.

(4) "Child in need of treatment" means a child in
need of mental health treatment who manifests a substantial disorder of
cognitive or emotional processes, which lessens or impairs to a marked degree
that child's capacity either to develop or to exercise age appropriate or age
adequate behavior. The behavior includes, but is not limited to, marked
disorders of mood or thought processes, severe difficulties with self-control and
judgment including behavior dangerous to self or others, or serious
disturbances in the ability to care for and relate to others. The presence of
epilepsy, mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, physical or sensory
handicaps, or brief periods of intoxication caused by alcohol or other
substances is not sufficient to meet the criteria for a child in need of
treatment but does not exclude a child otherwise determined to fulfill the
above criteria.

(5) "Court" means the probate court unless
otherwise specified.

(6) "Crisis stabilization" means a short term
placement to enable a child who has lost control to regain control in order to
be returned to his previous placement or to an appropriate treatment facility
or program.

(7) "Department" means the State Department of
Mental Health.

(8) "Diagnostic evaluation" means the systematic
appraisal of a child's functional level in various domains such as educational,
social, and psychological to determine the nature and extent of treatment or
services which may be required to meet the needs of the child.

(9) "In-home intervention" means comprehensive,
individualized in-home family services which are designed to intervene at times
when there is a possibility that the child will have to be removed from the
home to a more restrictive environment or to prepare a family for a child's
transition back into the home.

(10) "Law enforcement officer" means a state,
county, or city police officer, officer of the South Carolina Highway Patrol,
sheriff, or deputy sheriff.

(11) "Outpatient counseling" means a regularly
scheduled goal-oriented intervention by a competent professional responsive to
the needs of the child, for the purposes of assisting the child in solving
problems related to educational, vocational, emotional, familial, and social
issues through cognitive and affective modes.

(12) "Psychiatric assessment and evaluation" means
a systematic appraisal, in accordance with generally accepted medical
practices, for the following purposes: specialized psychiatric review of
physiological phenomena, psychiatric diagnostic evaluation, psychiatric
therapeutic evaluative services, and assessment of the appropriateness of
initiating or continuing the use of psychotropic medications in treatment of a
child.

(13) "Residential treatment program or facility"
means a structured, supportive, and therapeutic residential program for a child
in need of treatment.

(14) "Treatment team" means persons drawn from or
representing the professional disciplines or service areas included in the
development and implementation of a treatment plan.

(A) If a child is found to be a proper subject for voluntary
admission, the director of a treatment program or facility shall admit for
treatment an individual who is:

(1) sixteen years of age or older and who applies for admission;

(2) under sixteen years of age if his parent or legal
guardian applies for admission on his behalf.

(B) A governmental agency, acting as legal guardian,
admitting a child voluntarily, shall notify the child's guardian ad litem
within forty-eight hours. If a guardian ad litem has not been appointed, the
agency shall petition the court for appointment within seventy-two hours.

When a child sixteen years of age or older is admitted to an
inpatient facility at the department, the probate court of the county in which
the child resides or where the child applied for admittance shall appoint a
guardian ad litem. The guardian ad litem shall review the case and report to
the court whether, in the guardian ad litem's opinion, the child had applied
voluntarily or if the application was involuntary. The review may not exceed
seven days. During the review the guardian ad litem must have access to
relevant information and must be able to interview the parents or guardian of
the child. If the guardian ad litem suspects the application was involuntary,
the guardian ad litem shall notify the court and facility where the child is held.
After notification, the facility shall evaluate further the appropriateness of
admission and report the findings to the court. After reviewing the opinion of
the guardian ad litem and the facility, if the court determines the:

(1) application was voluntary or involuntary and no need for
commitment exists, the child must be discharged immediately;

(2) application was voluntary and admission is necessary,
there must be no further action before periodic review;

(3) application was involuntary and admission is necessary,
the court shall order the facility to file, within three days exclusive of
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays after the date of the order, a petition
for judicial admission and to retain the child pending a hearing which must be
conducted within fifteen days of the filing of the petition;

(4) child is in need of alternative treatment other than
admission to a facility, the local mental health center is responsible for
coordinating appropriate services.

The director of a treatment program or facility immediately
shall discharge to the parent, legal guardian, or agency a voluntarily admitted
child who:

(1) is no longer in need of that treatment program or
facility; or

(2) requests his own discharge or whose discharge is
requested, in writing, by his parent or legal guardian, or other interested
person, unless at least one of the following exists:

(a) the child was admitted on his application if sixteen
years of age or older, and the request for discharge is made by a person other
than the child, in which case, discharge is conditioned upon agreement of the
child;

(b) the child, by reason of age, was admitted on the
application of another person, in which case, discharge, before becoming
sixteen years of age, is conditioned upon three days' notice, exclusive of
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, being given to and consent being
obtained from his parent or legal guardian;

(c) the director of the treatment program or facility,
within three days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after
the child or other interested person requests the child's discharge, files with
the court of the county in which the child resided or was present immediately
before his admission, a petition for judicial commitment pursuant to Section
44-24-90.

SECTION 44-24-50. Periodic
notification to voluntarily admitted child, and parent or guardian, of right to
release.

When admitted to the residential program or facility, thirty
days after the date of admission, and every six months after, a voluntarily
admitted child must be informed in writing of his right to release in language
which is appropriate for his age. The child shall sign a statement to that
effect which becomes a part of that child's record. The child's parent or legal
guardian or other interested person must be informed also and shall sign a
statement to that effect which becomes a part of the child's record.

(A) A child may be admitted to an inpatient hospital for
emergency admission upon:

(1) written application under oath by an interested person
stating:

(a) belief that the child is in need of treatment and in
danger of harming himself or others as a result of his need for treatment;

(b) the specific type of serious harm thought probable if
the child is not hospitalized immediately;

(c) the factual basis for this belief;

(d) the reason why the child cannot obtain treatment
voluntarily.

(2) a certification in triplicate by a licensed physician
stating that he has examined the child and is of the opinion that he is a child
in need of treatment and in need of emergency admission. The certification must
contain the grounds for the opinion.

(B) A child for whom a certificate has been issued must not
be admitted on the basis of the certificate after the expiration of three
calendar days after the date of his examination.

(C) Before the emergency admission of a child to a treatment
program or facility of the department, the child must be examined by a licensed
physician. The physician shall inform the mental health center in the county
where the child resides or where the examination takes place of the mental and physical
treatment needs of the child. The physician shall consult with the center
regarding the commitment and admission process and the available treatment
options and alternatives in lieu of hospitalization at a state psychiatric
facility.

(D) The examining physician shall complete a statement that
he has consulted with the local mental health center before the admission of
the child to a state psychiatric facility. If the physician does not consult
with the center, he shall state a clinical reason for his failure to do so. The
statement must accompany the physician's certificate and written application
for emergency commitment. The department, in its discretion, may refuse to
admit a child to its facility if the physician fails to complete the statement
required by this chapter.

(E) Within twenty-four hours after his admission, exclusive
of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, the place of admission shall forward
the application and certification to the court of the county in which the child
resides or where the acts or conduct leading to his admission occurred.

(F) Within forty-eight hours of receipt of the application
and certification exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, the
court shall conduct a preliminary review of the evidence to determine if
probable cause exists to continue the emergency detention of the child. If the
court finds that probable cause does not exist, it shall issue an order of
release for the child. Upon a finding of probable cause, the court shall make a
written order detailing its findings and may order the continued detention of
the child. The court shall appoint counsel for the child if he has not retained
counsel and fix a date for a full hearing to be held within fifteen days from
the date of his admission.

(G) With each application and certification, the place of
admission also shall provide the court with an examiner appointment form
listing the names of two examiners.

(H) If the court appoints these two examiners, the
examination must be performed at the place of admission and a report must be
submitted to the court within seven days from the date of admission. The court
may appoint independent examiners who shall submit a report to the court within
five days. In the process of the examination by the examiners, available
previous treatment records must be considered. At least one of the examiners
appointed by the court must be a licensed physician.

(I) The examiner's report must be available to the child's
counsel before the full hearing.

If a child in need of emergency admission cannot be examined
by a licensed physician pursuant to Section 44-24-60 because his whereabouts
are unknown or for any other reason, the petitioner seeking commitment pursuant
to Section 44-24-60 shall execute an affidavit stating that he believes the
child is in need of emergency admission. The grounds for the belief must be
included and a statement that the usual procedure for examination cannot be
followed and the reason. Upon presentation of the affidavit, the court may
require a law enforcement officer to take the child into custody and transport
him for an examination by a licensed physician as provided for in Section
44-24-60. If within the twenty-four hours the child is not examined by a
licensed physician or, if upon examination, the physician does not execute the
certification provided in Section 44-24-60, the proceedings must be terminated
and the child immediately released. Otherwise, proceedings must be held
pursuant to Section 44-24-60.

The certificate provided for in Section 44-24-60(A)(2)
requires a law enforcement officer, preferably in civilian clothes, to take the
child into custody and transport him to the hospital designated by the
certification. Upon request, a law enforcement officer shall transport the
child's parent, legal guardian, or other adult family member to accompany the child
to the hospital. No child may be taken into custody after the expiration of
three days from the date of certification. A friend or relative may transport
the individual to the hospital designated in the application, if the friend or
relative has read and signed a statement on the certificate which clearly
states that it is the responsibility of a law enforcement officer to provide
timely transportation for the patient and that the friend or relative freely
chooses to assume the responsibility. A friend or relative who chooses to
transport the patient is not entitled to reimbursements from the State for the
cost of the transportation. No child may be subjected to mechanical restraints
during transportation except upon the determination by the law enforcement
officer that restraints are necessary to prevent the child's escape or harm to
himself or others. An officer acting in accordance with this chapter is immune
from civil liability.

SECTION 44-24-90.
Notification to child and guardian of petition; contents of petition; right to
counsel; examination and conclusions.

(A) Proceedings for judicial admission to a treatment
program or facility begin by an interested person filing a written petition
with the court of the county where the child is present or where the child is a
resident. The petition must state the factual basis of the person's belief
that:

(1) the child is in need of treatment;

(2) treatment may be obtained only through an involuntary
admission.

(B) The petition may be accompanied by a certificate of an
examiner stating that he has examined the child and is of the opinion the child
is a child in need of treatment. The certificate or written statement must
contain the underlying facts upon which the examiner or petitioner bases his
conclusions.

(C) Upon receiving a petition the court shall give the child
and his legal guardian, the guardian ad litem, if one has been appointed, and
other interested persons notice by certified mail of the petition and of the
child's right to counsel. Every reasonable effort must be made to notify the
child's natural parents of the petition.

(D) Within three days after a petition for judicial
commitment is filed, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, the
court shall appoint counsel to represent the child if counsel has not been
retained in the child's behalf. The court shall appoint two examiners, one of
whom must be a licensed physician, to examine the child and report to the court
their findings as to the child's mental condition and the need, if any, for
treatment. If the child refuses examination, the court may require a law
enforcement officer to take the child into custody and to transport him for
examination by the two examiners. After the examination, the child must be
released. A record of the examination must be made and offered to his counsel.
If the conclusions of the examination are that the child is a child in need of
treatment, the underlying facts must be recorded as well as the conclusion. The
child or his guardian may request an additional examination by an independent
examiner. The examination must be conducted at public expense.

SECTION 44-24-100. Notice of
hearing for emergency or judicial admission.

Notice of the hearing for an emergency admission or a
judicial admission must be given to the child or his guardian, his counsel, and
other interested persons at least five days before the hearing, exclusive of
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The notice must include the time, date,
and place of the hearing, a clear statement in plain and simple language of the
purpose of the proceedings, and the possible consequences to the individual for
whom involuntary admission is sought and a copy of the petition or affidavit
and supporting certificates of the examining physician.

SECTION 44-24-110.
Examiners' reports; disposition of child where report does not recommend
judicial admission, recommends judicial admission, or is divided.

(A) The written reports filed with the court by the
designated examiners must include, but are not limited to, questions relating
to whether or not the child poses an imminent danger to himself or others,
whether or not recent overt acts are indicative of a child in need of
treatment, and whether or not a less restrictive placement is recommended and available.

(B) If the report of the examiners is that the child is not
in need of judicial admission, the court shall dismiss the petition and the
child must be discharged immediately by the place of admission if the child has
been admitted to a treatment facility or program.

(C) If the report of the examiners is that the child is a
child in need of judicial admission, the court may order that the child be
detained at the place of his admission or in another treatment facility or
program.

(D) If the report of the examiners is divided, the court may
terminate the proceedings or shall designate a third examiner, who must be a
psychiatrist or psychologist trained or experienced in the treatment of
children, and order that the three examiners render a majority opinion within
three days exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.

The child or the child's guardian may request removal of the
proceedings to another county of the State when the convenience of witnesses
and the ends of justice require it. When the place of the proceedings is
changed, all other proceedings must be held in the county to which the place of
hearing is changed, unless otherwise provided by the filed consent of the parties
in writing or order of the court. The papers must be filed or transferred
accordingly.

A person to whom notice is required may appear at the
hearing, testify and, within the discretion of the court, present and
cross-examine witnesses, and the court may receive the testimony of other
persons. The court may hold the hearing in a suitable location in the State,
without regard to whether the location is in the county of the court conducting
the hearing, when the judge is satisfied that the health and welfare of the
child concerned is best served by conducting the hearing in a location other
than the court. The hearing may be conducted in an informal manner consistent
with orderly procedure. The court shall follow the rules of evidence applicable
to the probate courts in receiving evidence. The child or his legal guardian
may have a free transcript of the record of the proceedings.

(A) If the court finds, after presentation of all the
evidence, that the child is not in need of judicial admission, the court shall
order that he must be discharged if he has been hospitalized before the
hearing.

(B) If upon completion of the hearing and consideration of
the record the court finds upon clear and convincing evidence that the child is
in need of judicial admission, the court may order treatment in the department
or at another program or facility that agrees to accept the child.

(A) A family court may order that a child, who is otherwise
before the court on another matter, be given a psychiatric evaluation by the
appropriate community mental health center. The community mental health center
shall schedule the child for the ordered evaluation as soon as possible and
shall provide the family court with a written report of the results of the
evaluation within five working days following the evaluation.

(B) If the community mental health center reports to the
family court that the child is in need of an inpatient psychiatric evaluation,
the family court may commit the child to a hospital designated by the
department for a psychiatric evaluation. An order of commitment for psychiatric
evaluation may not exceed fifteen days. Upon written request by the department
to the court, the evaluation period may be extended for no more than an
additional fifteen days. Upon notification by the department to the court that
the evaluation has been completed, the court shall issue an order to implement
the immediate discharge of the child from the hospital.

(C) If a psychiatric evaluation indicates a child is in need
of judicial admission, the family court may:

(1) defer to the probate court for purposes of commitment to
a range of services; or

(2) commit to a range of services utilizing the procedures
and forms applicable to the probate court pursuant to Chapter 23 and Sections
44-24-90 through 44-24-140.

(D) Any victim of a child charged with a crime and held in
detention who is ordered to a mental health facility for a psychiatric
evaluation must be notified pursuant to Article 15, Chapter 3, Title 16 of the
child's transfer to or discharge from a mental health facility.

SECTION 44-24-160.
Examination and review of child admitted to inpatient program; program of care
and treatment.

A child admitted to an inpatient treatment program must be
examined by a member of the professional staff of the program promptly after
his admission and must be reviewed by the treatment team within seven days
after admission. Promptly after the treatment team review, a formal program of
care and treatment designed to meet the needs of the child must be instigated.
Results of all examinations and an outline of the child's treatment program
must be entered in his clinical record. Unless the child or his legal guardian
consents in writing, no treatment may be given which is not recognized as
standard mental health treatment.

SECTION 44-24-170. Right to
reexamination; notice of right; proceedings upon petition for reexamination.

(A) A child is entitled to have a reexamination on his own
petition or that of another interested person to the court of the county from
which he was admitted. The treatment program must inform every child and the
child's guardian of the right to petition for reexamination. The notice must be
given in writing upon admission to the program and once during the first month
of treatment and six months thereafter during the treatment of the child in age
appropriate language and in writing.

(B) Upon receipt of the petition the court shall conduct
proceedings in accordance with applicable provisions of Sections 44-24-90
through 44-24-140. The proceedings are not required if the petition is filed
sooner than six months after the issuance of the order for treatment or sooner
than six months after the holding of a hearing pursuant to this section. The
costs must be borne by the State.

(A) A child in need of treatment admitted involuntarily to a
mental health service which removes him from home, must have his case reviewed
by the court within twenty days of admission and every six months. If the
review determines the child is no longer in need of mental health services or
alternative services, he must be discharged immediately.

(B) A child in need of treatment admitted involuntarily to a
mental health service where he remains at home, must have the case reviewed
sixty days after admission and every six months. If the review determines the
child is no longer in need of mental health services or in need of alternative
services, the child must be discharged immediately, or, if necessary, the court
shall request the mental health center in which the child is being treated to
refer the child to the proper alternative services for the child.

(C) The treatment team may petition the court for review
after the initial review.

SECTION 44-24-190. Notification
to court when child moved to different program; court approval for move to more
restrictive program; placement in crisis stabilization.

(A) No child who has been admitted involuntarily to a
treatment facility or program may be moved from a less restrictive program to a
more restrictive program without court approval. Court approval is not
mandatory for moves from more restrictive to less restrictive programs. The
court must be notified within twenty-four hours when a child is moved from one
program to another.

(B) A child who has been admitted involuntarily to a
treatment facility or program may be placed in community crisis stabilization
without court approval for not more than five days. The head of the facility in
which the child is placed shall inform the court within three days of
placement. Court approval is mandatory to extend the period of crisis
stabilization beyond the five days and for each successive five- day extension.

(C) If the child has not been returned to an appropriate
treatment program or facility within ten days of being placed in crisis
stabilization, the court shall hold a review hearing within fifteen days of the
crisis stabilization placement to determine and order the appropriate program
for the child.

(A) If a child committed to an inpatient facility or a
residential treatment program is absent without proper authorization, the
facility or program director immediately shall notify the appropriate state and
local law enforcement officials and the parent or legal guardian of the absence
by telephone. The notice also must be confirmed in writing and mailed to the
law enforcement officials, parent, or legal guardian within twenty-four hours after
the absence is discovered.

(B) A law enforcement officer, upon the request of the
facility director or his designee and without necessity of a warrant or a court
order, may take the child into custody and return him to the program or
facility.

SECTION 44-24-210. Unlawful
to remove child from inpatient facility or residential program without
authorization.

It is unlawful for a person, without prior authorization
from the child's attending physician or his designee, to take a child away or
cause him to be taken away from the grounds of an inpatient facility or
residential treatment program. A person violating the provisions of this
section, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or
imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

SECTION 44-24-220.
Requirement of discharge planning and continuity of service in community.

No child may be discharged by the department or private
hospital without appropriate discharge planning. A member of the child's
treatment team shall coordinate in advance with the child's parent or legal
guardian as well as other service providers to ensure continuity in service for
the child in the community.

SECTION 44-24-230. Provision
of community-based treatment as alternative to hospitalization.

In order to provide community-based treatment as an
alternative to hospitalization, the department shall provide or cause to be
provided a range of mental health programs for children in each mental health
center recognized by the State. Based on available resources and to the extent
funds are made available to the department by the General Assembly, the
programs must include, but are not limited to:

SECTION 44-24-240. Agencies
to participate in planning and provision of services; exchange of records.

Agencies providing services to children or holding legal
custody of children are accountable within their legislative mandate to
participate in the planning and service provision to a child determined to be
in need of treatment. Agencies shall exchange and share records of services to
the child and the child's background.

SECTION 44-24-250.
Consultation with parent or guardian; participation in or

cooperation with treatment.

A parent or guardian of a child admitted to a treatment
program or facility is entitled and expected to confer at reasonable intervals
with the treating physician, psychologist, or other members of the treatment
team concerning the child's condition, treatment, or diagnosis. The treatment
facility may request that the parent or guardian of a child hospitalized or
treated must be available for consultation and cooperation in connection with
the treatment process. The treatment facility may request that the court, as part
of the relief ordered in the commitment proceedings, order the guardian or
parents to cooperate with the treatment process if they have been party to the
action.

SECTION 44-24-260. Child's
right to communicate, consult, or visit with agency or person having custody,
with counsel, or with private mental health service provider.

A child who is a patient of a treatment facility at all
reasonable times may:

(1) communicate and consult with the agency or individual
having legal custody of him;

(2) communicate, consult, and visit with legal counsel and
private mental health service providers of his parent's or guardian's choice at
his own expense. With the consent of the child, and upon request, legal counsel
must be provided with copies of the child's treatment records.

(1) receive special education and vocational training in
addition to other forms of treatment from the State Department of Education as
required by law;

(2) participate in play, recreation, physical exercise, and
outdoor activity on a regular basis, in accordance with his needs;

(3) keep and use his own clothing and personal possessions
under appropriate supervision;

(4) participate in religious worship;

(5) receive assistance as needed in sending and receiving
correspondence and in making telephone calls at his own expense;

(6) receive visitors, under appropriate supervision;

(7) have access to individual storage space for his own use.

(B) No right enumerated in subsection (A) may be restricted
without a written statement in the child's treatment record by a member of the
child's treatment team. This statement must indicate the detailed reason for
the restrictions. A written restriction is effective for not more than sixty
days and may be renewed only by the child's attending physician. Reason for
renewal must be entered in the child's treatment records. Renewed restrictions
may not exceed thirty days.

(C) Except as otherwise provided by law, no child may be
denied the right to:

(1) hold a driver's license;

(2) marry or divorce.

(D) Unless adjudicated incompetent, no child may be denied
any other rights specified by law.

No child may be subjected to mechanical or chemical
restraints, seclusion, or another form of physical coercion or restraint unless
the action is authorized by a physician as being required to prevent a child
from taking actions which are dangerous to himself or to others or prevent an
imminent and substantial disruption of the therapeutic setting of the facility.
The authorization for the action must be entered in the child's record within
one hour of the action. The authorizations are not valid for more than eight
hours unless approved by the facility director or his designee. No child in an
inpatient treatment facility of the department may be subjected to corporal
punishment.

SECTION 59-65-10.
Responsibility of parent or guardian; notification by school district of
availability of kindergarten; transportation for kindergarten pupils.

(A) All parents or guardians shall cause their children or
wards to attend regularly a public or private school or kindergarten of this
State which has been approved by the State Board of Education or a member
school of the South Carolina Independent Schools' Association or some similar
organization, or a parochial, denominational, or church-related school, or
other programs which have been approved by the State Board of Education from
the school year in which the child or ward is five years of age before
September first until the child or ward attains his seventeenth birthday or
graduates from high school. A parent or guardian whose child or ward is not six
years of age on or before the first day of September of a particular school
year may elect for their child or ward not to attend kindergarten. For this
purpose, the parent or guardian shall sign a written document making the
election with the governing body of the school district in which the parent or
guardian resides. The form of this written document must be prescribed by
regulation of the Department of Education. Upon the written election being
executed, that child or ward may not be required to attend kindergarten.

(B) Each school district shall provide transportation to and
from public school for all pupils enrolled in public kindergarten classes who
request the transportation. Regulations of the State Board of Education
governing the operation of school buses shall apply.

SECTION 59-65-20. Penalty for
failure to enroll or cause child to attend school.

Any parent or guardian who neglects to enroll his child or
ward or refuses to make such child or ward attend school shall, upon
conviction, be fined not more than fifty dollars or be imprisoned not more than
thirty days; each day's absence shall constitute a separate offense; provided,
the court may in its discretion suspend the sentence of anyone convicted of the
provisions of this article.

(a) A child who has been graduated from high school or has
received the equivalent of a high school education from a school approved by
the State Board of Education, or member school of South Carolina Independent
Schools' Association, or a private school in existence at the time of the
passage of this article;

(b) A child who obtains a certificate from a psychologist
certified by the State Department of Education or from a licensed physician
stating that he is unable to attend school because of a physical or mental
disability, provided there are no suitable special classes available for such
child in the school district where he resides;

(c) A child who has completed the eighth grade and who is
determined by the court to be legally and gainfully employed whose employment
is further determined by such court to be necessary for the maintenance of his
home;

(d) [Reserved]

(e) A student who has a child and who is granted a temporary
waiver from attendance by the district's attendance supervisor or his designee.
The district attendance supervisor may grant a temporary waiver only if he
determines that suitable day care is unavailable. The student must consult with
the district supervisor or his designee in a timely manner to consider all
available day care options or the district shall consider the student to be in
violation of this chapter.

(f) A child who has reached the age of sixteen years and
whose further attendance in school, vocational school, or available special
classes is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be disruptive to
the educational program of the school, unproductive of further learning, or not
in the best interest of the child, and who is authorized by the court to enter
into suitable gainful employment under the supervision of the court until age
seventeen is attained. However, prior to being exempted from the provisions of
this article, the court may first require that the child concerned be examined
physically and tested mentally to assist the court to determine whether or not
gainful employment would be more suitable for the child than continued attendance
in school. The examination and testing must be conducted by the Department of
Youth Services or by any local agency which the court determines to be
appropriate. The court shall revoke the exemption provided in this item upon a
finding that the child fails to continue in his employment until reaching the
age of seventeen years.

SECTION 59-65-50.
Nonattendance reported to court having jurisdiction of juveniles.

If the board of trustees of a school district or its
designee is unable to obtain the school attendance of a child in the age group
specified in Section 59-65-10, the board or its designee shall report such
nonattendance in writing to the juvenile court or such other court in the
county as may have jurisdiction of juveniles but exclusive of magistrate's
courts notwithstanding the provisions of Section 22-3-540; provided, that no
one except the board of trustees or its designee shall have the authority to
institute the proceedings herein.

SECTION 59-65-60. Procedure
upon receipt by court of report of nonattendance.

(a) Upon receipt of such report, the court may forthwith
order the appearance before such court of the responsible parent or guardian
and if it deems necessary, the minor involved, for such action as the court may
deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.

(b) The court may, after hearing upon ten days notice, order
such parent or guardian to require such child to attend school and upon failure
of such parent to comply with such order may punish such parent or guardian as
by contempt, provided, that punishment for such contempt cannot exceed fifty
dollars or thirty days imprisonment for each offense.

The procedure herein provided shall be alternative to the
penalties provided in Section 59-65-20.

If the court determines that the reported absence occurred
without the knowledge, consent or connivance of the responsible parent or
guardian or that a bona fide attempt has been made to control and keep the child
in school, the court may declare such child to be a delinquent and subject to
the provisions of law in such cases.

SECTION 59-65-80. Enrollment
or attendance of expelled or suspended child not authorized.

Nothing herein shall be construed as granting authority to
require enrollment or attendance of a child who has been or may be expelled or
suspended by the board of trustees of the district or any other person acting
with authority from the board of trustees.

The State Board of Education shall establish regulations
defining lawful and unlawful absences beyond those specifically named in this
article and additional regulations as are necessary for the orderly enrollment
of pupils so as to provide for uniform dates of entrance. These regulations
shall require: (1) that school officials shall immediately intervene to
encourage the student's future attendance when the student has three
consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences and (2) that
the district board of trustees or its designee shall promptly approve or
disapprove any student absence in excess of ten days. As used in this section,
"intervene" means to identify the reasons for the child's continued
absence and to develop a plan in conjunction with the student and his parent or
guardian to improve his future attendance.

Provided, However, That nothing within this section shall
interfere with the Board's authority to at any time refer a child to a truancy
prevention program or to the court pursuant to Section 59-65-50.

School districts must adopt policies to define and list
lawful and unlawful absences.

(A) Lawful absences include but are not limited to

(1) absences caused by a student's own illness and whose
attendance in school would endanger his or her health or the health of others,

(2) absences due to an illness or death in the student's
immediate family,

(3) absences due to a recognized religious holiday of the
student's faith, and

(4) absences due to activities that are approved in advance
by the principal.

(B) Unlawful absences include but are not limited to

(1) absences of a student without the knowledge of his or
her parents, or

(2) absences of a student without acceptable cause with the
knowledge of his or her parents.

(C) Suspension is not to be counted as an unlawful absence
for truancy purposes.

II. Truancy

The State Board of Education recognizes that truancy is
primarily an educational issue and that all reasonable, educationally sound,
corrective actions should be undertaken by the school district prior to
resorting to the juvenile justice system.

(A) Truant

A child ages 6 to 17 years meets the definition of a truant
when the child has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five
unlawful absences.

(B) Habitual Truant

A "habitual" truant is a child age 12 to 17 years
who fails to comply with the intervention plan developed by the school, the
child, and the parent(s) or guardian(s) and who accumulates two or more
additional unlawful absences. This child may need court intervention and an
initial truancy petition may be filed. The written intervention plan, and
documentation of non-compliance, must be attached to the truancy petition
asking for court intervention.

(C) Chronic Truant

A "chronic" truant is a child ages 12 to 17 years
who has been through the school intervention process, has reached the level of
a "habitual" truant, has been referred to Family Court and placed on
an order to attend school, and continues to accumulate unlawful absences.
Should other community alternatives and referrals fail to remedy the attendance
problem, the "chronic" truant may be referred to the Family Court for
violation of a previous court order. All school intervention plans existing to
this point for this child and family must accompany the Contempt of Court
petition as well as a written recommendation from the school to the court on
action the court should take.

III. Intervention Plans

(A) Each district must develop a policy relating to
requirements for intervention. The district plan for improving students'
attendance must be in accordance with any applicable statutes.

(B) Once a child is determined to be truant as defined in
Section II(A), school officials must make every reasonable effort to meet with
the parent(s) or guardian(s) to identify the reasons for the student's
continued absence. These efforts should include telephone calls and home
visits, both during and after normal business hours, as well as written
messages and e-mails. School officials must develop a written
"intervention plan" to address the student's continued absence in conjunction
with the student and parent(s) or guardian(s).

(C) The intervention plan must include but is not limited to

(1) Designation of a person to lead the intervention team.
The team leader may be someone from another agency.

(2) Reasons for the unlawful absences.

(3) Actions to be taken by the parent(s) or guardian(s) and
student to resolve the causes of the unlawful absences.

(4) Documentation of referrals to appropriate service
providers and, if available, alternative school and community-based programs.

(5) Actions to be taken by intervention team members.

(6) Actions to be taken in the event unlawful absences
continue.

(7) Signature of the parent(s) or guardian(s) or evidence
that attempts were made to involve the parents(s) or guardian(s).

(8) Documentation of involvement of team members.

(9) Guidelines for making revisions to the plan.

(D) School officials may utilize a team intervention
approach. Team members may include representatives from social services,
community mental health, substance abuse and prevention, and other persons the
district deems appropriate to formulate the written intervention plans.

IV. Referrals and Judicial Intervention

At no time should a child ages 6 to 17 years be referred to
the Family Court to be placed on an order to attend school prior to the written
intervention planning being completed with the parent(s) or guardian(s) by the
school. A consent order must not be used as an intervention plan from any local
school or school district. Should the parent(s) or guardian(s) refuse to
cooperate with the intervention planning to remedy the attendance problem, the
school district has the authority to refer the student to Family Court in
accordance with S.C. Code Ann. Section 59-65-50 (1990), and a report shall be
filed against the parent(s) or guardian(s) with the Department of Social
Services in compliance with S.C. Code Ann. Section 20-7-490 (2)(c)(Supp. 2002).

(A) Petition for a School Attendance Order

If the intervention plan is not successful and further
inquiry by school officials fails to cause the truant student and/or parent(s)
or guardian(s) to comply with the written intervention plan or if the student
and/or parent(s) or guardian(s) refuses to participate in intervention and the
student accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences, the student is
considered an "habitual" truant. Each referral must include a copy of
the plan and specify any corrective action regarding the student and/or the
parent(s) or guardian(s) that the district recommends that the court adopt as
well as any other available programs or alternatives identified by the school
district. The intervention plan must be attached to the petition to the Family
Court and served on the student and the parent(s) or guardian(s).

(B) Petition for Contempt of Court

Once a school attendance order has been issued by the Family
Court and the student continues to accumulate unlawful absences, the student is
considered to be a "chronic" truant and school officials may refer
the case back to Family Court. The school and district must exhaust all
reasonable alternatives prior to petitioning the Family Court to hold the
student and/or the parent(s) or guardian(s) in contempt of court. Any petition
for contempt of court must include a written report indicating the corrective
actions that were attempted by the school district and what graduated sanctions
or alternatives to incarceration are available to the court in the community.
The school district must include in the written report its recommendation to
the court should the student and/or parent(s) or guardian(s) be found in
contempt of court.

V. Coordination with the South Carolina Department of
Juvenile Justice

Each school district should coordinate with the local office
of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice to establish a system of
graduated sanctions and alternatives to incarceration in truancy cases.

VI. Transfer of Plans

If a student transfers to another public school in South Carolina, intervention plans shall be forwarded to the receiving school. School
officials will contact the parent(s) or guardian(s) and local team members to
review the plan and revise as appropriate. Court ordered plans may be amended
through application to the court.

VII. Approval of Absences in Excess of Ten Days and
Approval of Credit

(A) Approval or Disapproval of Absences

The district board of trustees, or its designee, shall
approve or disapprove any student's absence in excess of ten days, whether
lawful, unlawful, or a combination thereof, for students in grades K-12.

For the purpose of awarding credit for the year, school
districts must approve or disapprove absences in excess of ten days regardless
as to whether those absences are lawful, unlawful, or a combination of the two.

(B) High School Credit

In order to receive one Carnegie unit of credit, a student
must be in attendance at least 120 hours, per unit, regardless of the number of
days missed. Students whose absences are approved should be allowed to make up
any work missed in order to satisfy the 120-hour requirement. Local school
boards should develop policies governing student absences giving appropriate
consideration to unique situations that may arise within their districts when
students do not meet the minimum attendance requirements.

Therefore, districts should allow students, whose excessive
absences are approved in part 1 of this section, to make-up work missed to
satisfy the 120-hours requirement.

Examples of make-up work may include

(1) after-school and/or weekend make-up programs that
address both time and academic requirements of the course(s), or

(2) extended-year programs that address both time and
academic requirements of the course(s).

All make-up time and work must be completed within thirty
days from the last day of the course(s). The district board of trustees or its
designee may extend the time for student's completion of the requirements due
to extenuating circumstances as prescribed by State Board of Education
Guidelines.

VIII. Reporting Requirements

The State Department of Education will develop and implement
a standard reporting system for the adequate collection and reporting of
truancy rates on a school-by-school basis.

IX. Guidelines

Additional information relating to the implementation of
this regulation will be contained in State Department of Education Guidelines.
The State Department of Education will review and update these guidelines as
needed.

The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice does
not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, disability or age. THE FOLLOWING OFFICES HAVE BEEN
DESIGNATED TO HANDLE INQUIRIES REGARDING THE NONDISCRIMINATON POLICIES: Title
IX -- Inspector General's Office -- 803-896-9595 Title II & 504 -- Special
Education Office -- 803-896-8484.